Modeling under Snow
by AdamineTerra
Summary: Book two of the Mages of Lancet Series. Lovely Mirajane has a problem. When no one in Fairy Tail will be a male model for the guild, who can she turn to? Lisanna has just the solution, and it comes in the form of a god slaying bartender who's recently returned to town. How does a vengeful god fit into this and since when is Demon Mirajane a damsel in distress?
1. Prologue

**Hey, y'all. Given the fact that I haven't been interested in writing here lately, I've been behind (majorly behind) in my Mages of Lancet Series (This is Book Two of that series by the way). I did a little bit of editing, and will posting the edited version of Modeling under Snow Today. So, if FanFiction spams you with my alerts, that's the issue. Sorry for the excess messages you will be receiving. On the bright side, I should be posting my newest chapter for this guy tonight. I hope. I think. I pray. We'll say. For now, I bid you adieu!**

* * *

Prologue

_Kingdom Lancet_

_Icere Mountains_

The mansion was aflame. Six year old Urian Lancet knew it as much as he knew that smoke was climbing high above the fir trees. Even with his young mind, Urian understood that his family was in danger.

All day Urian had spent time in the village with his uncle. He'd gotten to see battle armor and greatswords. Urian had watched a reenactment of the Battle of Eve where men dressed in their berserker clothing and went to battle on stage against evil mages. The child had laughed. He had danced with pretty village girls, and he had held a hockey stick for the first time today.

Now, all those new memories were drained from his skull. The Best Day Ever had sharply turned into the Worst Day Ever as Urian cried, "Isaac!"

The boy didn't cry for his mother, a mother who had solely married for wealth. He didn't cry for the father who never paid attention to him. He simply screamed for his big brother.

Inside of the moving carriage, the boy leaped to the door. His hands scrambled for the handle despite his uncle's protests. Before a single hand could be placed on his body, the child had already leaped from the carriage.

Amongst the snow covered rocks the boy's body rolled, but he didn't let the jagged points deter him. As his uncle cried for the carriage to halt, Urian charged. His young legs pumped through snow up to his knees.

Breath iced over in the chilly weather, and the furred toboggan on his black head fell to the snow. The child's only thought was, _Isaac._ Over and over again, Urian cried out his brother's name in his head.

His big brother was inside of that burning mansion, and Urian wanted him out.

A tree limb hidden under the thick snow snagged Urian by the foot. Tumbling face first, Urian screamed his brother's name. It was muffled by powdery, white fluff. With his gloved hands, Urian crawled back up to his feet.

He dug a trench in the snow as he stood then fell and stood then fell once more. He was frantic in his movements. As he took his and his big brother's secret shortcut through the woods, Urian's ice blue eyes never left the flames that flickered between the trunks of the evergreens.

It was so red. Urian could already feel a temperature difference as he approached. _Isaac, Isaac, Isaac,_ Urian continued to chant. _I promise that I will save you, brother! You have to be okay, big brother!_

Isaac had to be okay. He just had to be. The giant flames that burst through the glass of the mansion could not have gotten to Urian's big brother. Isaac was as tough as the northern winter. He was as powerful as a snowstorm. Izzy had to be safe.

Tiny hands braced up against the bark of a tree, and as he clung to the trunk, he watched in horror at crimson. It flared upwards. Urian could see tongues of flame licking from the chimney. Glass shattered before his very eyes when it was heated and couldn't withstand the inferno any longer.

A woman's flaming body charged from the arched entryway of the mansion. She screamed. She clawed at her skin. Dropping to her knees in the snow, her burning eyes watched snow melt before it could get rid of the flames.

With fire reflecting in his widened eyes, young Urian watched on in horror as his mother burned in front of him. Still, it wasn't her name that was on his lips. It was Isaac's.

"ISAAC!" Urian's voice screamed out.

The burning image of his mother didn't even stop in her screaming to look at the son charging towards Hell's Mansion. With horses whinnying and stomping at the sight of the inferno, Urian paid no mind to his uncle screaming his name.

He could hear the mid forty year old's feet tramping through the snow. "Urian, boy! Don't you dare go in there!" his uncle protested. More snow crunching. More heavy breathing. Urian focused on none of it.

Urian had to get to Isaac. He had to get to the brother who looked out for him every step of the way. It was Urian's chance to return the favor.

Isaac was always rescuing his brother from stupid pranks and ideas. He'd saved Urian from drowning when the boy had gone skating on the pond too early in the year. He'd saved Urian from their father's fury when Urian had snuck into the man's secret office and ransacked the place. Urian had also gotten rescued from their mother's wrath when he'd shredded a dress to make a cape before sliding down the stair rail.

Isaac was in danger, and Urian absolutely had to save him. Leaping into the flames, Urian entered the burning mansion. Great Gods, it was hot. Already, sweat dripped from the boy's face. With fire dancing too near to his skin, Urian cried, "Izzy! Zac! Are you in here? Just tell me where you are!"

"URIAN!" a voice rioted from up the massive staircase where the boys would play. "URIAN, GET OUT OF HERE!"

Isaac's voice was high pitched and scratchy, almost like he'd been screaming for extended moments. There was a terror in that proclamation Urian never would have suspected the older boy to possess.

With an audible gulp, Urian charged up the stairs. He cried out, "I'm gunna save you, brother!"

"No! No! Don't! Get out of here!" Isaac screamed. There was a harsh crashing sound, and Isaac hissed as if in pain.

Urian ignored Isaac's pleas. Never before did Urian listen to his elder brother, and he wasn't going to start doing it now. Hastily, Urian leaped over a statue that had fallen in the corridor of the upstairs rooms. His footsteps charged through the mansion.

A wooden beam came swinging down. It missed Urian's face by mere centimeters. He could feel the caress of fire, and his eyes watered in fear.

"I'm going to save you!" Urian hollered, more motivating himself from his fear than calling to his brother.

"You're stupid! You'll get hurt if you don't get out of here…" Isaac's words faded out, and Urian's eyes went impossibly wider. No. Oh, no. Something could not have happened to Zac.

Urian finally reached the west wing. As soon as his hands wrapped around the doorknob to his brother's bedroom, he gave a harsh tug. A wooden beam that had been braced by the door came flying towards Urian's face.

He could feel the heat of the flame. He knew he was about to be struck right between the eyes. Gritting his teeth, the boy bravely accepted his fate. His eyes didn't slam shut. If anything, the boy watched the beam swing in slow motion towards his face. He could feel his blood pumping in his veins, and he could feel his heart hammering away against his ribcage.

Right when Urian was positive he was about to die here and now, a flash of black crystal shot up. The wooden beam and its flames were flash frozen. A hand snatched Urian up by the long scarf around his throat. His small body was hauled upwards.

From Urian's position in the air, he stared in awe at the mansion. Where this man stood, the flames were frozen. The entire mansion looked like a winter wonderland except caked over in black ice.

"Do you want to become stronger?" a deep voice asked, strangely calm amongst the inferno encompassed within ice.

Suddenly jerking his head towards the temperate voice, Urian fumbled, "Do I what?"

"Do you want to become stronger?" the voice repeated, aggravation already on the man's lips.

"Y-Yes! I-I-I have to save my brother!" Urian finally stammered out.

The man drew Urian up by his furry scarf, and Urian gaped at the sight of a god. Urian's mind couldn't even process a cognitive thought. Instead, he stared foolishly in awe of the man holding him up by a deer hide.

With a smile creeping up the god's face, the trickster god Loki, mentioned, "Then, I will teach you how to become stronger, but only because you remind me of me."

"But, Isaac-" A finger pressed against Urian's lips, and the god shook his head slowly. Urian couldn't even figure out what that meant. It apparently didn't matter because in seconds Urian was teleported in a flash of black ice from the mansion and to a great estate.

Already bewildered, Urian was sent into an even greater state of shock when Loki flash froze Urian to the spot. "When you can break free of that ice, we can begin your training," the god explained.

The six year old gaped at the ice that had pinned him to the spot. He wasn't able to do anything but stare because Loki had already disappeared from the foyer of the grand castle.

It was in that moment that Urian narrowed his eyes at his frozen legs. The boy determined, "When I'm as strong as a god, I'll make sure to come back for you, Isaac. I swear it."


	2. M&M

M&amp;M

_Kingdom of Fiore_

Urian blinked a couple of times when he realized just where he'd been dumped off at. It'd been a while, but Urian was back in Magnolia Town. He hadn't been here since the masquerade ball at Halloween when his cousin had gotten kidnapped and taken back to Lancet. Now, it was close to Christmas, and Urian was in one of the two places he'd been trying to avoid since returning to Fiore.

Why was he avoiding Magnolia Town? Well, it had to do with two women, one was his cousin and the other was a Take Over Mage Urian had wound up feeling more than lust over. As a proud womanizer, the last thing on Urian's mind was the big, scary _L _word, and after said Take Over Mage had wound up working at his side and turning him into a pathetic lap dog, Urian had decided to ditch out on Master Makarov's suggestion that he join Fairy Tail.

Mirajane Strauss was a buxom white haired barmaid. When Urian had enlisted her help for taking over the kingdom he was prince over, she had worked with him a lot. The two had helped plan the destruction of a wall in Lancet that separated Normans, normal humans, from mages. Also, she had helped fight the war against Norman Lancet nobility in order to fight for the equality of mages.

In the end, the wall had been destroyed and Urian's brother, Isaac, had succeeded in taking the throne of Lancet, the first ever mage to do so, but Urian had wound up doing the one thing that he swore never to do in his life. He'd fallen for a woman.

Urian was the Prince of Players, the Stud of Studs, and the Womanizer of the Century. He was a male model for the women's version of _PlaySpell_, a mage magazine that specialized in sexy pictures of handsome men and voluptuous women, and he was also the top mage in _Sorcerer Weekly's _Untamable Bachelors Section. He had the most commitment issues out of any male in Blue Pegasus, and the last time that he'd been in a serious relationship, it had ended with Urian getting a serious issue of Bachelor's Panic wherein he broke up with the woman as soon as he saw her toothbrush next to his in the bathroom.

It was safe to say that Urian was in hiding from Mirajane Strauss, but it wasn't anything that she had done to him. If anything, it was the way he acted around her. She made him… stupid. He got clumsy around her and forgot where he was when he looked into her big baby blues. If Urian wasn't careful, that woman could easily have him wrapped around her little finger.

She had a kindness and destructiveness that had called to Urian, made him long for her company. Urian longed for nothing. Women came to him. Money came to him. Fame, lust, acclaim, they were all things that Urian never chased after. For him to chase a woman of all things… Urian just stifled a shudder.

Still, when Urian stuck his hand into his pocket to pay the guy whose wagon he'd got a ride on, there was just enough left to get him a room for a couple of nights. Urian needed jewel, and he needed it quick.

His cousin, Adamine or Princess Erianna Lancet, was looking for him. She had matchmaking plans for her wayward cousin, and Urian was running away from her like the plague that adamantine dragon slayer was. After the little female got hooked up with the Seith Mage of her dreams, she'd suddenly decided that relationships were something worth studying.

Adamine had taken one look at Urian's change in mannerism and decided that he and Mirajane would make a cute couple. Apparently, her matchmaking team of Evergreen and Freed, self-proclaimed Team Everfreed, had agreed.

Inwardly groaning, Urian looked towards Magnolia. Then, he looked at his nearly empty pockets. Urian's secret mission had kept him coming up fruitless and penniless. Not many people wanted to hire a mage that didn't bear a guild mark. Since Master Makarov had taken the temporary guild mark off of Urian, the male sported nothing to show his credibility.

Damn his elder cousin for inspiring him to search for his godly father. If Adamine hadn't finally found her dragon mother, Firmalione, Urian would have never got up the courage to go search for the man.

There were only two things that Urian stayed committed to. Those things were titled family and women. He had never committed himself to searching for Loki, but after seeing Adamine find Firmalione, Urian had an itch on his heart that he just couldn't get rid of. Thus, Urian was currently poor, homeless, and in a town he did not want to be seen in. "How the mighty have fallen," he murmured.

Running a hand at the back of his throat, Urian decided that he would enter the town. He needed a short term job, just enough to at least get him some food and perhaps a train ticket. Since Adamine had horrible motion sickness, Urian doubted that she would be seen on a train. Mirajane wasn't an active mage, so she probably didn't leave town too much. If Urian just kept away from the guild and in places neither woman showed up at, he might be safe.

Magnolia wasn't as big as the capital of Lancet, but it wasn't a small town. If he kept his eyes peeled, he could stay out of sight of the girls. But, they weren't the only ones that he had to look out for. Urian had the entire guild to hide from. Kind of hard to hide from people when they lived in the place you were sneaking around in.

He took in a deep breath then straightened his shoulders. Urian could do this. He had a face to die for and a body that sent women to their knees. Surely, with his good looks and sexy reputation, he could get a job somewhere.

Urian had a certain set of talents aside from being freaking hot and a model. He was an Ice God Slayer thanks to the father he'd been searching for lately. Urian could frost over any place to create a winter wonderland for any Christmas celebration. He was also a wonderful mixologist. Urian could list hundreds of mixed drinks off the top of his head, and he knew how to work with bootlegged whiskey from Lancet, a big commodity in the bar community.

With that in his head, Urian stepped through the streets of Magnolia. The last time that Urian had visited this place, he and his brother had been trying so hard to keep Adamine from getting kidnapped that they'd barely checked the town out. All that Urian really knew about was the park, the guild, and the hotel.

Now that Urian could look at the town, he found it to be really… cute. Most of the buildings were wood. Many of them had different styles of shingle roofs, and a lot of them were stick styled houses. The only stone that was around seemed to be the arched bridges and the cobblestone streets. It was very rustic Fiore compared to the stone buildings of cold Lancet. Then again, Urian really only saw the wealthy side of Lancet since he was a prince, one of the two mage princes.

As he strolled about, Urian found himself walking past places Adamine was sure to haunt. There was a comic book store up the street, and as soon as Urian stepped in front of the storefront, his eyes met one of his cousin's manga.

She was a writer and specialized in manga. Her work was published throughout Fiore, and she was even trying to get it shipped through the Magic Railroad to Lancet. Whenever Urian caught sight of her stories, he made sure to pick them up. With the lack of money in his pockets, Urian was forced to pass it up. It was the first manga that he'd ever skipped. To himself Urian mused, _There's another thing for me to save money up for_.

Internally, he grinned. His family was doing so well now. Isaac was King of Lancet. Adamine was finally in a steady home with a lover and a job as a Fairy Tail mage. Even her Hellhound, a canine companion named Black Pearl, was doing better than Urian. She was in Fairy Tail, stayed in Adamine's home, and was researching ways to get back to her dimensional world.

Urian was the only one who hadn't done much. The only title he could claim was _PlaySpell's_ top model, and that wasn't something Urian had too much pride in.

Being attractive was easy. Urian was born with good looks. He could bat an eyelash and women went swooning. He could summon a harem with just a bend of his index finger. No. He didn't consider his modeling a success. It was just something he did for fun and an easy way to get money. Urian wanted to create a big name for himself, something he could really be proud of, but he'd just never cared for anything like that until recently. Urian actually wanted to be more than the Hot Prince or the Sexy Model. He wanted to be… something worth being.

Daydreaming, Urian didn't even notice a woman unloading crates of booze in the street. His body kept on walking in its languid way, and the next thing he knew, Urian smashed flat into a woman holding a crate of beer bottles.

The liquor went shattering to the streets as the woman tumbled onto her butt. "The hell do you think you're doing, dumbass!" she shrieked.

From his sprawled out position on the streets, Urian's immediate reaction was to charm his way out of this situation. In a sexy yet adorable way, he scratched the side of his head. A sly grin crept up his face, and he charmed, "Oh, miss, I'm so sorry. Excuse me. I wasn't paying any attention to where I was walking."

The old crone just squawked, "Yer damned right you weren't paying attention! Git off yer ass and clean this mess up! This is alcohol abuse in the worst kinda way!"

Somehow, she wound up with a broom in her hands and began to smack Urian upside the head. Urian blinked a couple times as he was smacked around with a broom. His charm didn't work. Well, there was a first for everything.

Getting real, Urian stood up to begin cleaning. As soon as he tried to pick the glass up from the ground, he was smacked into next century by the broom. "Ye dumbass, use the broom. What're ya some kind of stupid?"

The broom was thrust into Urian's hands, and he hastily set about it. The last thing he needed was to ruin his face. It was what was going to get him a job in this town. He couldn't risk this crone screwing up his chances.

With a scowl forming on his face by the second, Urian swept the glass up. As soon as he had it in a pile, he was going to ask for a dust pan to sweep the debris into, but he wound up getting smacked by it.

"Dumbass, ye ain't gunna git anything done right if ye don't use a dust pan," she scolded.

The dustpan appeared in Urian's hand, and he hastily swept the glass up then dumped it into a trashcan outside the storefront. His eyes caught sight of a sign, and he read, "M&amp;M Tavern."

"Oh, look. The dumbass can read. Yeah, M&amp;M Tavern. Marlon and Marlene. We're the best damned tavern 'round. Second only to the bar in Fairy Tail, but that's just 'cause we ain't got no sexy barmaids. Iffin' I could find somebody some kind of good looking…" the woman's bitching began to flow out of her lips and into the air when she finally got a good look at Urian's face.

He knew what the woman saw. Urian was a tall, broad shouldered male with jet black hair and ice blue eyes that someone could get lost in. He had pale skin from staying in the cold Lancet north and a physique women took double takes at. Even as he scampered around on the street girls were checking him out while they walked by. This face and this body were both a curse and a blessing.

Urian cleaned up the remnants of the wooden crate then tossed it into the garbage can. As soon as he turned around, the short, old woman was in front of him. She poked him in his hard stomach. The next thing Urian knew, his shirt was getting lifted up. The woman eyed his six pack then her eyes ran to the goodie trail of dark hair leading down past the top of his jeans.

Once she was settled with that, she let the fabric of his shirt drop. Her hands pulled his steel grey vest off his arms, and she eyed his biceps. Her eyes seemed to glisten at the pure silver armlets that were so tight on Urian's biceps that they'd have to be cut off to be removed. Then, she tossed his vest straight into the trash.

"What the hell are you doing, lady?" Urian barked, unable to keep his cool anymore.

Her hand poked him hard in the abdomen, and she growled, "Listen up, dumbass, the name's Marlene. I'm the owner of this tavern, and I suspect that you owe me for ruining a good 45,000 jewel in liquor. Ye got a handsome face. I need more business to top out Fairy Tail. They got that sexy barmaid Mirajane, but I could double my female customers with a face like yours. What's yer name, dumbass?"

"Urian. Urian Lancet," he admitted, brows raising. Well, he had said that this face was what would get him a job. He just hadn't expected it to happen this way. Broom smacking included.

"Alright, dumbass, since you owe me, yer gunna work for me 'till you can repay me for the liquor you ruined. My best customer's gunna freak when she finds out that her whiskey ain't 'round no more. Ye done made an enemy of my best customer, but with your face yer gunna pull all the women of Magnolia into my bar. First, though, I gotta change your clothes. That vest covers up too much. Let me just do this… and that… and…" The woman proceeded to move this and that on Urian's clothing. Somehow she'd conjured a plaid shirt and new jeans. She looped a leather belt around his hips, and once she approved of her work, she added, "Ya got a job, dumbass."

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Mirajane let a sigh slip from her mouth after another rejection. This was proving to be much more difficult than she'd suspected. Pursing her lips, Mira looked to the flyer that had sat on the Fairy Tail request board for nearly a month now. It was titled, "Guild Pageant: Male Models Needed."

The job had been sent close to a month ago by _Sorcerer Weekly_, and since Mirajane was a model for the magazine, she felt highly inclined to collect a set of male models from Fairy Tail to partake in the guild pageant. Jason was extremely motivated to get more guys involved in modeling for the magazine, but for some reason Fairy Tail men were opposed to the idea.

Laxus had deemed himself too busy. Bickslow had laughed at the mere mention of such a request. Freed had flushed at the thought of doing nude poses. Gray and Natsu had run away before she could even approach them about it. Elfman had said that the contests weren't manly enough. Loke was the only one Mira thought might do it, but he was with Lucy out on a mission. The rest of the guild was either making excuses or on jobs so Mira didn't even have a way to ask them.

Exhaling a breath, Mirajane sank at one of the wooden tables. She had really been excited about this job. She'd done modeling with the guild members before, but just the mention of the magazine _PlaySpell_ had turned everyone off faster than the word could come out of her mouth.

The sexy magazine was put out by the same company as _Sorcerer Weekly_, and many of the female mage models happily posed for the magazine's more risqué shots. She just couldn't get guys to do it. With a reward like 500,000 jewel, Mira figured the guys would jump at the opportunity.

Fairy Tail had already met the guild quota for female mages in the pageant. Mirajane, Lucy, Erza, Juvia, Evergreen, and Cana had wound up in the finals after doing a contest to get the top five Fairy Tail girls. She would have suspected Adamine to have partook, but she had been on a job with Bickslow, a date that Mira had made look like a job. All that Mirajane had left to collect was six Fairy Tail men. She knew which ones she wanted.

Laxus was a wonderful option since women found him so handsome, always crying his name and asking for autographs. Gray was a fabulous choice. Loke was her number one mostly because Mira knew he would do it. Natsu would be her number three choice. Freed would be wonderful if he wasn't so disturbed by the idea of possibly having to sexualize himself. She just didn't know who could be her number six.

Mirajane was sure that she could get Laxus to partake, and she knew she could scare Gray and Natsu into joining as well. Loke would go if he got back from his job in time. All that left was an open number six slot that Mira just couldn't place.

"You look like you're about to give up," Lisanna intoned as she slipped in beside her sister.

Mirajane gave Lisanna a smile then hugged her sister in greeting. "Not yet, but I just can't figure out who to get to be my number six in the pageant."

Lisanna leaned back in her chair. Her big, blue eyes perused the guild, and Mira knew what she was looking for, more victims. It didn't take her too long before she let loose a shrug. "It would be nice if one of the Lancet Princes was here. I'm sure Urian would have loved to take up an offer like this. Has Adamine found him since he disappeared from Hargeon?"

Mirajane hadn't even thought about Urian. He'd been a temporary Fairy Tail mage, and after talking with him for a bit, Mira had learned that he was a model for _PlaySpell_. The two of them had spreads in _Sorcerer Weekly_ as well. Yeah, Urian would have been the perfect option, but as soon as Fairy Tail had hit port in Hargeon after liberating an entire kingdom from tyranny, he'd gone off the grid. His cousin Adamine had been searching for him ever since.

No one knew where he was, and Lisanna was interested in seeing Urian again. Most of the women in the guild were. Urian had rocked the female population of Fairy Tail. There wasn't a girl around in the guild that didn't enjoy taking looks at him when he walked by. Mirajane hadn't been an exception either.

"No, I haven't heard anything from Mina. She's off with Bickslow right now. When she gets back, I'm sure she'll be too busy putting money into the cave she dug out for herself at the edge of town," Mirajane mentioned.

Adamine was an artist. She enjoyed carving and creating. When the dragon slayer had caught sight of a sturdy rock outcropping just out of the town, she had immediately decided that was where she was going to move. Her previous flatmates, Bickslow and Freed, had been rather upset about their favorite roomie moving out, but they'd helped her with moving the heavy stones as she dug them out.

So far, Adamine had dug out a three bedroom and two and a half bathroom cave. She even had a game room where she kept a pool table and air hockey table. It was safe to say that her cave home was far from basic. It was an architectural marvel that the guild spent time in when they weren't partying in Fairy Tail.

If anyone knew where Urian was, it would be Adamine and her personal suite of assassins and spies, a gift from her assassin comrades in Lancet, but with her current house project Adamine wasn't spending too much time in the guild. Mira would have to just find someone already in Fairy Tail instead of getting someone to abduct Urian.

She slumped in her chair as she thought about who could be her next victim. When the sound of a barstool screeched against the wood floor, her big eyes rolled up towards Cana.

The woman put down an empty keg. After tossing her fuzzy, blue purse over her shoulder she called out, "We're all outta booze, Mirajane. Imma take the party to M&amp;M. Alright?"

"Alright, Cana," Mira replied, "I put the order in for tomorrow's delivery. We should have enough to keep you happy." The two women beamed at each other before Cana strolled out the door.

As Cana exited the guild, she mused, "One more victim. Eh? Wonder who that could be…"

* * *

Urian tossed a glass into the air for the women who sat at the bar in front of him. In his left hand he spun a bottle of vodka around and around. They watched with awed eyes when he popped the bottle off the back of his hand. The long neck bottle rolled down his arm, and he leaned back for it to roll all the way to his right hand. Catching it with a spin, he bounced before flipping it over to let the drink flow out into the glass.

"So, an electric lemonade for my beautiful blonde," he charmed with a wink. The woman's eyes might have well have turned into hearts as she took her drink with tender fingers. She went to take a sip, but Urian's long fingers stroked her hand. "Na-ah. You need some ice with that," he stopped. She raised her brows. With the glass still near her lips, Urian blew his ice god slayer breath against the glassware. The long glass frosted over in Urian's black ice, and she felt the chilly blow of Urian's breath in the room. It kissed her tan skin, and she blushed at the close contact. "Perfect for consumption, beautiful." She swooned and let the frosty glass press to her lips.

"And, what will I be making for you…" He let his words fade off when he turned to a brunette who'd just entered the tavern.

She tilted her head at him for a second then let a grin slide across her pink lips. "Cana Alberona. I'll be having a whiskey sour on ice."

"Coming right up for you, gorgeous." He spun around on his feet to snag the ingredients off the shelves. After whipping the drink right up with all kinds of flair, Urian let his elbows lean on the counter. He gave this beautiful Cana woman his best model worthy grin and charmed, "Order up."

She snickered at him, taking the glass without falling for his charms. Still, Urian could see the way her eyes glittered as she took in the sight of him. She found him handsome. Most women did, and as much as he loved to flaunt it, he got jaded by women's stares. This Cana was different though. He could tell it by the way she took the glass from his fingers. When their skin touched, she didn't get goofy and girly. If anything, she got more masculine. The woman reared back and took her drink like a pro. Urian liked a girl that could hold her liquor.

"So, Mr. Bartender, can you tie a cherry stem with your tongue?" she flirted back. The cherry that had been drifting amidst her drink appeared in her dampened fingers. She rolled it back and forth in front of his face. Right when she popped it inside of her mouth, Urian bit the stem. Her eyes widened at his bold move, but it didn't stop the sultry smile rising up her face.

When she snapped the stem off with her mouth, Urian let it slip into his. After whirling his tongue a bit, he stuck it out to present his work to Cana. Sure enough, it was perfectly tied into a knot.

Urian teased, "Challenge Accepted. How about a shot, Cana?"

"Only if you can hold your-"

"DUMBASS!" the old crown squawked. She appeared up from the back of the tavern, took one look at the place, and looked about ready to have a heart attack. "The hell is all of this?" Her arms stretched out to gesture to the bar Urian had redecorated.

He spun around, backing himself up. All of the charm that he'd been using to work the women of Magnolia was sucked out of him by the dark hole named Marlene. His eyes glanced around the bar. All he'd done was frost the place over a bit. He'd strung up some blue holiday lights and blew ice over them to create facets that hit at just the right angles. The dance floor was now a skating rink, and women were lounging on chairs Urian had made out of ice. The place was a stylish winter wonderland instead of a dusty tavern. Urian had thought it'd help business, and apparently it had. All the women in the bar looked pleased. All of the women but Marlene.

"I redecorated," he admitted, trying to keep his seductive charm.

"Without my permission! Dumbass, you owe me. You have no right to go and…" Her words faded out when she caught sight of Cana behind Urian. Her old body shifted over, and she greeted, "Well, if it isn't my best customer. Cana, if this dumbass is bothering you, just give me the word, and I'll send him on his way."

Cana snickered, "Oh, no. He's fine. Actually, it looks like he's helped business in here. This used to be one of the quieter bars in Magnolia. Now, it's more active. You have more young people in here instead of just regulars." Beaming at Urian, Cana added, "You have your very own male Mirajane here to help bring in business."

"He's more of a flirt than sweet like Mirajane, but he gets the job done." The old woman snagged Urian up by the ear and drew him close. "Dumbass, you may have saved yerself this time, but ye go and change my bar again, I'll skin ye alive."

"Of course, ma'am. I understand."

"Ye had better understand. Cana, dear, I'll be in the back settling out financial bull shit. Iffin you need anything all you have to do is holler." She gave Cana a wink. "Gotta keep my regulars happy. Ya hear?"

With another whiskey sour pressed to her lips, Cana gave a final wave to the old woman. She could practically see Urian breathe a sigh of relief when the lady disappeared behind the shelves lined with liquor. Once Cana had finished her latest drink, she let the frosty glass hit the wooden bar. Her fingers played on the rim. With a slick grin she purred, "So, this is where you've been hiding out at, Prince Urian."

A chill ran up Urian's spine when he heard his name cross the room. Oh, shit! Oh, shit. No! That could not be a mage of Fairy Tail. Urian had thought that he knew all of them.

His entire body froze up before he could tend to a chesty green haired woman. Woodenly, he turned around. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. She crooked her index finger, and Urian approached as if he'd just been summoned.

Cana leaned up by pressing her hands down on the countertop. He watched in near horror as inch by silky inch her flat abdomen was revealed to him. Once she'd pulled knees into the barstool, Urian could feel cold sweat across his brow. Right at Cana's hip was Fairy Tail's insignia. He'd been found out.

A hand grabbed Urian by the chin. He moved like a man bespelled when she drew him near. In Urian's ear, she whispered, "I own your ass."

"A-Anything. Just don't tell Adamine."

"Anything? Buy me a round of the hardest stuff you've got. Then, I'll debate whether or not to turn you in."


	3. White Hair and Blue Eyes

White Hair and Blue Eyes

Urian tensely tended to the other women in the bar. Even as he spun liquor into the air with aplomb, his usual charm wasn't radiating. Sure, he flirted. He played. He made women swoon, but he wasn't into it. Oh, no. He wasn't concerned with them at all.

What Urian was concerned with on the other hand was a smiling Cana Alberona. She was leaned back carelessly in her barstool with only her sandaled foot holding her from toppling backwards. A collection of beer bottles laid out in front of her, and that had just been her preliminary round, a round that Urian had to pay for to keep his existence in Magnolia quiet.

Damn it all. He was a dog on a chain right now, and his owner was going to keep the chain locked tight around his wallet instead of his throat. Still, there wasn't anything he could do. As long as he was in Magnolia, and as long as Cana knew he was in Magnolia, he was thoroughly screwed.

Urian had to get back on the road and quick. The longer he stayed here, whether under Cana's witness protection services or not, the more likely Mirajane or Adamine were going to find him. He could only do so much before one of them found out. Urian could just hope that it wasn't Adamine.

He was more worried about Mina finding him than Mira. Adamine would force Urian to stay at Fairy Tail, and as soon as she learned about his quest to find Loki, she would insist upon helping him. Or worse, she would encourage Urian to ask Mirajane to help.

Yeah, Urian was more concerned with how he would act around Mirajane if she ever found him. As he'd said before, she made him stupid, and if there was one thing that silky smooth Urian Lancet did not like being accused of, it was being stupid.

Loki had trained him to be a womanizer, to fend for himself. He remembered one of Loki's teachings well. "Fall for a woman, and you'll fall to your death, boy. If you think that I'm the trickster god, then you should see a woman playing for something she wants. Women are cunning and sly. Never let one wrap her hands around your heart. She'll make you weak."

After having his heart broken only days after that lecture, Urian had sworn by Loki's teachings. He'd never had a steady relationship since he was nineteen, and now in his twenties, Urian still hadn't met a woman he'd desired. Until Mirajane.

Cursing his own foolishness, Urian topped off a round of layered rainbow shots for a bachelorette party then felt himself being summoned. Cana's drunken, sultry voice purred through the air like a call from the reaper, but it was a call Urian couldn't get away from. With his teeth gritted, he strolled away from the drunken party girls.

"Oh, Urian," she called before a hiccup. Her body sprawled out over the bar top, and Urian couldn't help but raise his brows at the silver and black armbands that encircled her biceps. Urian had similar ones, but his were engraved with the language of the gods. They'd been a gift from his literal god father. He wondered whether Cana's were just jewelry or if they were important somehow. Still, he didn't let it distract him much. Once he was in front of the drunken female, she explained, "Urian, I'm drunk."

With a curled lip at the woman who currently held a knife at his throat, he grumbled, "Really? I couldn't tell." He laid his calloused hands on the bar top on either side of her then leaned forward when she curled her finger at him.

"Take me home," she slurred. With her arms curled around her head, she grinned up at him. Her face was flushed, and she swayed just slightly in her seat.

The bar was about to close, and the old hag was probably about to slam the door on everyone. Most of the other occupants had left. When Urian's ice blue eyes glanced towards the door, he watched the bachelorette party leaving. Thankfully, they had an escort. Urian was not about to let a group of obviously drunken women leave this bar without one. He just wasn't that kind of guy. It went against his gentlemanly lady killer persona.

His eyes made their way back to the other obviously drunken woman in the room. He would have made a response to her slurred request, but he was stopped short by none other than the bar's tyrant herself.

Marlene howled, "DUMBASS! What the hell are ye still doing at the bar? The barback's out cleaning, and you're just standing here doing nothing but…" Just like the last time she'd taken note of Cana, the woman's words faded out. Turning a scowl at Urian, she snapped, "Never mind cleaning the bar up, Dumbass. I want you to make sure that my best customer gets home safe. Ye hear?"

Urian's internal scowl only deepened. Despite the annoyance thrumming in his veins, he just turned to the grinning drunk at the bar. Drying his hands off on a dish towel, Urian set aside the glasses he'd been washing between customers. He reached towards the swinging door that sealed him behind the bar. As soon as his hands touched the wood, his wrist was snagged.

Marlene's steady gaze bored into Urian's eyes. She hissed, "Don't even think about any funny business while you take her home. If I hear a word, then you'll be..." She moved her finger against her neck in a slitting motion. Yeah, Urian got the point. He'd been in deep shit if he screwed with Cana while she was imbibed. Damn, what did this woman think he was?

Urian may have loved the ladies a bit too much, but he would never do anything without verbal consent. It was part of his honor code. With a mental roll of his eyes, Urian stepped around the bar.

His hand reached out to the swaying drunk on the leather barstool, but as soon as she latched onto him, she toppled forward. Strong arms wrapped around her body to secure her in place. Then, a broom smashed directly over the top of Urian's dark head.

"What'd I tell you about funny business, Dumbass?" Marlene croaked.

With his ire coming to the fore, Urian's skull snapped to the side. His blue eyes bored inside of the wrinkly faced woman. He bared his fangs at the same time that he roared, "Would you rather I let her fall, old crone?"

Marlene looked stunned for a moment. The short, old woman gaped at him with wide eyes. He thought that he'd hurt her feelings, but then the woman smacked him with the broom once more. Hitting him hard in the back, Marlene squawked, "Git outta here then! She lives in a townhouse on Maraschino Street."

"Thank you for the information!" Urian howled back. Since the old crone was still croaking, he decided that he would. Damn. No one had ever riled Urian up like this since Loki. Casting a withering glance at the woman he currently owed, Urian thought he saw her lips upturn into a smirk. Humph! Made sense. The damned woman was a sadist. Of course, she would smirk when someone came back at her.

Despite it all, Urian adjusted his hold on Cana. The woman was giggling and looking up at him with an entranced gaze. Oh, yeah. She thought he was handsome and funny. Great. More people were seeing him without his smooth talking façade. He tossed Cana's arm around his shoulders. With his free hand, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Man, oh, man. He had to get outta here.

When the cool air of Fiore's equilateral, December breeze kissed Urian's skin, he couldn't even enjoy the breeze. He only thought, _It's not cold enough here._ Urian was raised in the Viking lands of upper North Lancet. He was used to twenty below zero temperatures at this time of the year. He was used to people wearing thick, winter coats not bikini tops and jeans.

Urian's eyes cast down to the woman he was hauling around on his shoulder. Cana's deep cleavage was bared for anyone to see. Normally, the man in Urian would have been pleased by the sight. With his current circumstances, he couldn't have cared less. Thankfully, he'd retrieved his steel grey vest from the empty trashcan earlier.

When Cana's skin got goosebumps and she loosed a shiver, Urian tossed his long vest over her shoulders. "Thanks," she slurred with her body leaned hard into his.

With a gruff "You're welcome" Urian kept walking down the streets. It was late in the night. The moon hung heavy above the town, signaling that it was passed one. Urian doubted that any inns would be open right now. Damn it. Thanks to the old crone and the young drunk, Urian wasn't going to get anything done right. If anything, they might stall him leaving Magnolia.

His fangs flashed, but he walked on. He walked on and on and on before finally realizing something. Urian was completely lost! When he turned to ask Cana for directions, he found the female was snoring against his bicep.

"Why me?" Urian groaned. Blue eyes scanned the area. Sure enough, no one was out right now. He didn't see anyone coming down the streets or did he see any lights on in any of the houses. They were obviously in a residential district, but none of the streets signs read Maraschino Street. His eyes cut Cana down. She didn't care. She just kept softly snoring against his arm.

Keeping on, Urian walked down the uneven, cobblestone streets. His boots made a song of solitude, and deciding it was the right moment, Urian hummed, "I walk a lonely road the only one that I have ever known…"

He kept on his solitary path until more footsteps caught his ear. Immediately, it twitched in the direction of the sound, but when Urian eagerly spun around to ask for directions, his entire body paled. White hair. Blue eyes. Curvy body. Urian's mouth breathed, "Oh, shit."

He just could not get a break.

* * *

Lisanna stretched her hands high to the sky in a sleepy yawn. It'd been late when Mirajane had finally left the guild. Lisanna had waited for her sister of course, but when the master called her back to talk about the guild pageant, Mira had urged Lisanna to head on home.

Thus, that was what she was doing.

With her hands behind her head, Lisanna casually strolled down the street. Her eyes took in the soft, amber glow of the streetlamps, and she felt like she truly was in some kind of fairy tale when she saw Cana passed out on the city streets. Well, a dark fairy tale that was.

Hastily, Lisanna dashed in the direction of the unconscious guild member. Dropping instantly to her knees, Lisanna removed a strange grey vest from Cana. As soon as the fabric was removed, Lisanna nearly cooed at the sight of an adorable, black puppy guarding over the drunken mage.

The puppy had his canines flashing. Hair stood up in a line on his back, and Lisanna noticed strange bands wrapping around the dog's front legs. Also, the dog's ears were pierced along with a piercing on its bottom lip. Who pierces their dog?

And… what were these guy clothes doing in the street? Gray didn't wear clothing like that.

Tossing that thought aside, Lisanna smoothed her voice out. "Shh. It's okay, little guy. Come here," she soothed. Slowly, her hands reached out towards the puppy. He backed up into Cana's legs and nearly jumped. The poor thing was so frightened.

Still, Lisanna took her chance. With the dog backed up as far as he could get, Lisanna scooped him up into her arms. The puppy went deathly still for a moment, but as soon as Lisanna rested the animal against her body, he began to sniff her. The shivering that had coated over his entire body gradually stilled, and once he stopped growling at her, Lisanna checked Cana over.

She didn't have any injuries. As a matter of fact, Cana just looked like she'd passed out there and hadn't moved since. It was plausible.

Grabbing onto Cana's shoulder, Lisanna gently shook the other woman. Her shaking was met with a few grunts and groans. A drunken slur slipped from Cana's lips, but after a stern determination, Lisanna got the woman to open her chocolaty eyes. "Cana," Lisanna wondered, "are you okay?"

"Huh? Who? What? Where? Who stole my beer?" Cana's body abruptly jumped straight. The vest that had been keeping her warm in this cool weather slid down her body, but she caught it in her hands. She might have been swaying and still flushed from a full night at the bar but Cana took one look at the vest and scowled. Well, she apparently knew whose clothes these were.

"Cana?" Lisanna urged, waiting for a reply.

"S'not where I'm s'posed ta be. Where am I?" Cana slurred. She gripped the vest that had been over her body and wrapped herself up tighter in it. Bleary eyes looked around her, and with that in her mind, Lisanna realized that Cana was in no form to be walking around alone. As if that wasn't obvious by the fact that she was unconscious and laid out in the streets with random guy clothes around her.

With a motherly grin, Lisanna decided it was her turn to play the mother goose role in Fairy Tail. It was a role typically given to Mirajane, but Lisanna was a close second. She cast a glance at the clothes on the ground then looked at the vest. Well, she wasn't going to touch someone's dirty boxers, but she would take this vest. Cana kept it tight on her, so maybe she knew the owner.

One arm held the growling puppy, and after bracing a sleeping, pre-hungover mage on her side, Lisanna's other arm kept Cana from stumbling alone. "Come on, Cana. We're close to the house."

* * *

Urian was mentally howling. Oh, shit. Oh, shit, no! This day just kept getting worse and worse. He was supposed to be hiding from the Strauss family. He was not supposed to be going to their house. Man, oh, man. Urian was so screwed.

Still, there wasn't any escaping from the iron hold Lisanna had on his shape shifted body. Damn it. He should have chosen a bigger animal instead of a small dog, but no, Urian didn't want to rip his clothes. Instead, he'd chosen an adorable dog form that Lisanna Strauss apparently found endearing. At least, she hadn't left his clothing in the streets.

Urian wouldn't be able to stay in this form all night. He only had about thirty or so more minutes until he shifted. Internally, Urian writhed. What probably sounded like growling was actually Urian cussing himself out.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. You are so stupid. Loki, damn it, Urian. You should have just asked Marlene for directions. All the old crone gave you was an address. She didn't even give you directions. The woman probably wanted this to happen to you!_ He berated of himself.

As he cussed himself in the form of dog-like barks and yapping, Urian's blue eyes watched in sheer terror when Lisanna stepped in front of House Strauss. The building was three stories tall. What it lacked in width, it made up for in height. Such height was accentuated by the design as well. The building was designed according to the architectural Stick Style. In other words, the townhouse had "Gingerbread" or decorative embellishments across the front. The framing was visible from the outside, and with a steep roof there was no way snow was going to collect on top of their house. The house was just as beautiful as the women that occupied it.

Then again, it was kind of hard to describe the giant bulk that was Elfman as beautiful.

Urian tucked his tail between his legs as soon as Elfman caught sight of his baby sister carrying in an unconscious drunk and a puppy. When the man's massive shadow crossed over Urian's animal frame, he shivered at just how bad Elfman was going to beat him to a pulp if he caught Urian in the Strauss abode.

Lisanna took Urian's shivers as what they were. She ran her hands soothingly down Urian's back, and he had to admit it was enjoyable. Lisanna encouraged, "Don't worry about Big Brother Elf. He's a gentle giant."

Oh, yeah. Gentle giant. Sure. Urian wondered just how gentle Elfman was going to be when Urian's body shifted back, and Elfman found a naked Urian Lancet standing in his house. Oh, Loki, he had to get out of here ASAP.

Elfman took that as a cue. He approached his little sister. Taking Cana carefully from Lisanna's shoulder, he wondered, "Little sister, what are you doing with an unconscious Cana, a black puppy, and a stray trench coat? Gray didn't go streaking again. Did he?"

"Oh, no, Elfman. It was nothing like that. I found Cana passed out. She must have been walking home after drinking at M&amp;M. I don't know where the vest came from, but it was with her. Maybe, she beat someone in another drinking game and the loser had to strip. I don't know." She held Urian up for Elfman to see him, and while Urian was sinking his claws into her arms and squirming to get away from the man who was sure to kill him in about an hour, Lisanna cooed, "Isn't the puppy cute, though?"

Elfman smacked a fist against his massive chest. "Puppies are a man!" He seemed to wait a second before changing his demeanor. Leaning down with a big smile on his face, Elfman wondered, "Can I hold him?"

Urian yelped, "Oh, shit, no!" It sounded just about that way, too. Despite his yipping protests, Lisanna happily handed Urian's dog body over to Elfman. Immediately, Urian squirmed hard. His body twisted this way and that, but when Elfman's large grip got a hold of him, there was no escape.

To Urian's utter horror he felt Elfman running his hands down Urian's dog body. Elfman scratched him behind the ears, and as much as Urian hated to admit it, that scratching made a chain reaction that got Urian's hind leg kicking.

Lisanna laughed at Urian's response then carried Cana over to the couch. "He was guarding Cana when I found her in the streets. He doesn't seem too scared of people, just apprehensive. How about we put up some flyers around town to see who owns him?"

"No!" Urian barked in Elfman's ginormous arms. If Adamine caught sight of any of those posters with a picture of him on it, she would know! Adamine and Isaac were extremely familiar with Urian's shape shifting abilities. After being raised by the shifter god Loki, it was no wonder Urian knew more magicks than just ice god slaying. They, being well versed in Lancet mythology, would know if the image was just Urian in his shifted form. They would see his armbands, bands that were enchanted to never come off no matter what.

"The little guy doesn't seem too happy about that idea, Lisanna," Elfman intoned. Urian happily shook his head. Strangely, that also got him wagging his tail. What the hell? Urian had never stayed this long in a shifted form. He hadn't realized it would give him the mannerisms of an animal too.

"Well, it's the right thing to do. We can interview whoever comes, and if they don't seem like they'd be good for him, maybe, we could keep him. Mira wouldn't mind." A cunning grin crept up Lisanna's face. She snickered, "And, you're always sneaking off with Evergreen, so we all know you wouldn't care. Essentially, he would wind up being my puppy."

Elfman's flush went scarlet faster than Bickslow's little sister's sport bike went from zero to sixty. He stammered, "E-E-Evergreen and I? W-we're not-we've never-"

Lisanna gave a casual shrug. After adjusting a blanket across Cana, she mentioned, "We should give him a name. I'm sure that Mirajane would love to see a puppy in the house since she's been having so much trouble here lately."

Trouble? Mirajane was in trouble? Urian's unfortunate draw to the woman spiked, and he hastily lifted his head up to listen intently.

Stroking Urian's black furred back, Elfman mentioned, "Yeah. You'd think that someone would want to help her. It's pretty bad that no one will."

No one wants to help Mirajane? The idiots! Mirajane was a beautiful, sweet, and powerful woman. Who in their right mind wouldn't want to help her? Casting a scowl with his canine fangs, Urian mentally slapped himself. Oh, right. Urian wanted to get as far away from her as possible. He wouldn't want to help her.

Well! He'd be damned if he didn't do something from a distance. Mira would never even know he was helping her. Yeah, now all Urian needed to know was her trouble.

His plotting was interrupted when the front door opened up. Gulping hard, Urian turned his head. What he knew he would see was standing right in front of him.

With her charming smile in place, Urian stared into the eyes of Mirajane Strauss.

Even in his canine form, he got love struck. Urian's tail started wagging like some stupid dog, and he felt the urge to run into her arms.

Mirajane grinned at Lisanna first then to Elfman. Upon seeing Urian in Elfman's massive arms, she intoned, "A puppy?"

Lisanna explained Urian's presence, but he wasn't even listening. Like a complete dork, Urian couldn't help himself. His dog body wriggled around until Elfman accidentally dropped him. Tripping over his feet, Urian charged forward into Mirajane's open arms.

She wrapped him up in the best embrace Urian had felt in years. For just a second, Urian thought, _Ya know, being a lost puppy might not be a bad thing._


	4. Man to Man

Man to Man

"Aw. He likes you, Mira," Lisanna cooed. She leaned down to scratch the puppy's ears, but Mira was blinking down at the dog. For some reason… This dog seemed familiar. His front legs were wrapped with bands that had strange, foreign writing on them, and his ears were pierced. As a matter of fact, if Mirajane didn't know better, she would say that this dog had the same coloring and piercings as Urian Lancet. Strange.

Still, the puppy was uber cute. She held him close to her then asked, "Have you decided on a name?"

Lisanna ran a hand against the back of her head at that. "Well, no. I was wanting to wait until we got to know him before deciding on a name." Mid-sentence, her lips widened in a massive yawn. Lisanna's light, blue eyes were wet from staying up so late. After a second, she mentioned, "I'm going to go on ahead to bed."

Elfman broke into the conversation. He called, "I want the dog to stay in my room! Dogs are man's best friend. You know!"

Mira gave her younger brother that motherly smile of hers, but as soon as she attempted to hand over the pierced, black pup to Elfman, the dog scrambled to stay close to her. Little claws dug into her hands and the pup's blue eyes shot wide. He sounded like he was yapping, "No! No! No! He'll kill me!" If Mirajane was the least bit delusional, she would have thought that was exactly what the pup was barking.

Nonetheless, she soothed, "Don't worry. Elfman is good with puppies."

_Yeah, he might be good with dogs, but how good is he going to be when he wakes up with my naked ass standing in his bedroom?_ Urian howled inside of his head. He felt himself be passed over the massive hands of Mira's little brother and could have howled. Man, oh, man.

He only had a few minutes until he changed back. The bad thing about Shifter Magic was that it was meant to be a quick escape. Although it wasn't his primary magic, the god Loki had taught him this magic. Urian only had so much time until he changed into his human self. Also, Lisanna hadn't brought his clothes.

When he was carried towards one of the bedrooms in the Strauss house, Urian wanted to start smacking his head against the nearest wall. His heart was just counting down the minutes until he shifted back.

He buried his face between two paws when he was set down on a massive bed to suit Elfman's massive frame. As soon as the male let him go, Urian retreated to the far end of the California king sized bed. His heart sunk with the mattress as Elfman's weight pressed the bed down.

Shit! This guy could roll over in his sleep and crush him. Urian scooted with his hind legs to get away from the pair of giant feet that had appeared under the blankets. This was so weird. Urian loved women. He loved staying in the rooms of the opposite sex. For him to be in the same bedroom as another guy was just screaming _wrong_ to his masculinity.

Even though, Urian watched lamplight be shut off in the room. His canine night vision came on like a switch, and Urian took in the man's bedroom. Unlike Urian's quarters would be without maids, Elfman's room was very neat and orderly.

Elfman's bedframe was low to the ground, and he had blue sheets covering the top. The pillows were green. Urian only knew that because one came flying at him from Elfman's direction. Snagging the pillow in his teeth, Urian accepted the offering. He continued to take in the man's bedroom, looking for some kind of easy escape, while he scratched his claws into the pillow to make it more comfy.

Once Urian curled up into a ball, the dog checked out the windows. They were pointed arch windows with six panes. There was a latch at the bottom, but without thumbs Urian was not going to be able to get through those. Well, that left the bedroom door. Thankfully, Elfman hadn't closed the door fully. It was cracked slightly open, and he could catch sight of Cana sleeping on the couch in their living room.

Damned woman was the reason he was in this mess. "Oh, Urian, I'm drunk. Take me home," he mocked with low growls. Uh. Huh. How did Urian not know that this was some kind of ploy to let him get caught? He was damned sure going to get caught if he couldn't think of something.

Already, Urian could feel his body trying to expand. Joints creaked in his knees, and his big, dog paws were growing. The toes were getting longer. The nails were getting shorter. He only had so much time.

A low, masculine groan sounded from the other end of the bed, and Urian was nearly destroyed by Elfman's leg moving under the sheets. How the hell did Evergreen deal with this beast of a man? She was so tiny, and he was so huge. Oh, well. The two of them did seem like closet perverts.

As soon as Urian was about to make his escape to the living room, that leg scooped Urian up. In seconds, Urian's canine body was wrapped up in a muscular embrace. A shiver of absolutely freaked out proportions ripped through Urian's body in a long wave.

He tried to claw out, but Elfman just held him tighter. Damned sleeping giants! And, who knew Elfman would be so cuddly? This was disturbing.

Urian's canine body writhed and wriggled, but the vise grip on him just tightened. No, man! No! Urian could already feel his shift accelerating. His claws had shortened into his typical nail length, and the hair at the top of his head was lengthening.

Soon enough, his paws had grown out to actual hands. Then, in a whoosh of smoke a fully naked ice god slayer appeared in Elfman's arms. "Mother fuck," Urian hissed out. His skin was crawling when Elfman's arms shifted around Urian's bare body.

This was so wrong. So absolutely, positively wrong!

With his skin trying to crawl off his body, Urian wrapped a hand around Elfman's arm. He was trying to be quiet and gentle so not to wake the massive behemoth, but as soon as Urian's leg shifted off the bed, dark blue eyes met crystal blue ones. Elfman blinked for a second, and Urian gulped.

As soon as a drop of nervous sweat slipped down the tip of Urian's nose to hit the green fabric of the pillow, all hell broke loose. A mighty roar ripped through the air, and Urian scrambled backwards.

Man, oh, man! Urian always knew that he would die a horrible, violent, and bloody death, but he had just assumed he'd be wearing clothes when the reaper came to hack off his head. Raising his palms up in surrender, Urian barked, "Listen, man! It's not what it looks like. I swear it! Calm down, and I'll explain everything!"

A fist came slamming down towards him, but Urian blocked it with a shield of ice. His two hands took the impact. Elfman roared, "How the hell did you get in my house?"

Another blow came heading his way, and Urian ducked his head for Elfman's fist to smash through one of the wooden studs behind the plaster. Man, he sure hoped that wasn't a load bearing wall or else this whole house could come toppling down.

Either way, Urian yapped, "Lisanna found me when I was in my Shifted form. I'm a shapeshifter, man. A shapeshifter!" He snagged Elfman's burly arm up then twisted it behind the male's back. It wasn't to harm him, just to subdue him. Man, if Urian woke up with some naked ice dude in his arms, he would be flat out pissed too. He couldn't blame Elfman for wanting to kill him. It was in the Guy Code.

A guy shall not touch another guy for a prolonged amount of time. Especially not when in bed. Yeah, it was like Commandment Two, Paragraph One in the Guy Code Book.

Elfman took extended breaths to calm himself. When Lisanna's and Mira's bedroom doors opened up for them to come towards the sounds of scuffling, Elfman kicked the door closed. His mass kept the door closed even as they attempted to come in.

"Elfman, are you okay? It sounds like you're rampaging," Mirajane wondered. Urian got slack jawed at that voice, and he mentally roundhouse kicked himself. Stupid, Urian. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"I'm good, Mira. Bad dream. I fell on the floor," he lied.

Urian could have high fived that man if he didn't feel like letting go of his arm would have his body sent flying through a window or wall.

Both of their breaths heaved as Elfman calmed down and Urian got over the fact that he wasn't going to die today.

Mirajane didn't sound like she was buying that excuse. Even though, she replied, "Okay. I'm going back to bed then."

"Alright, goodnight, big sis," he called. As soon as their doors closed back, Elfman added, "Let me go. I won't kick your ass."

"Good. It's weird holding you while I'm naked." Urian loosened his grip, and when Elfman merely attempted to move his arm to his side, Urian fully let go.

"Why are you naked?" Ah, he just asked the question of the century.

"Shifter Magic isn't like Take Over Magic. We don't retain our clothing. Man, do you have some clothes? This is just really awkward talking to you when I'm standing here butt naked in your bedroom." Despite the comment, Urian didn't hide himself. He was used to be naked around others. He'd taken a public bath before. They were all the rage in Lancet. The hot springs up in the mountains offered the best view of the autumn snow. Isaac and Urian always went there every year, sometimes more than once a year. Nudity wasn't the issue. The issue was the fact that they were in a bedroom.

Elfman turned towards his closet and retrieved a pair of blue pants and a blue button up that was way too small for him now. It was the same outfit he used to sport when Lucy had first entered the guild. Wow. He was so little back then. Either way, he handed the clothing to Urian.

"Here. They might still be too big, but at least you won't be naked," he explained.

As Urian shuffled into the oversized attire, he snickered, "Man, where do you even shop at for clothes? The Bigger _and_ Taller store? Maybe, XXXL?" If these clothes didn't fit him now, Urian assumed the man came out of the womb huge.

The shirt devoured him, and the pants Urian had to hold up to keep them from falling off of him. When Elfman tossed him a belt, Urian gladly looped it through.

Sitting down on the bed, Elfman explained, "Mira makes our clothes half of the time. Like you mentioned, it makes things easier when you're as manly as I am." He pointed his thumb towards himself then cast a massive grin.

Lifting his arms, Urian kissed his hidden biceps. "Oi! Man, these guns ain't nothing to scoff at." With the way his clothes were drooping off his body, Urian's statement was null and void.

Elfman snickered. After a second, he asked another one of the big questions in the room. "So, what were you doing as a dog?"

_I've got the hots for your sister, but I don't want to admit it to her face_. Hmm. For some reason Urian didn't feel like that would fly over very well with the giant. Instead of telling the exact truth, Urian mentioned, "Well, I work at a bar in town, so I was walking Cana home. I'm trying to hide from my cousin. She's been looking for me. The plan was to not let anyone from Fairy Tail find me, but when Cana came to M&amp;M, she promised not to let anyone else find me. Then, Cana passed out before we could get to her house. Lisanna showed up, and my immediate instinct was to shapeshift. Look how far that got me!"

"Well, if you're just hiding from Adamine, we can make sure she doesn't find you. Why don't you just leave?"

"No money. Also, my wallet was left in my pants when Lisanna brought me here. I need to find it. It's got… some stuff in it." Stuff like all of Urian's leads on Loki. The god had disappeared, but his tricks were famous. He left a line of mischief wherever he went, and Urian was planning on following it. He needed that wallet.

"Well, we can help you find your wallet. Hopefully, no one picked it up, but we can check," Elfman suggested.

Urian ran a hand through his jet black hair. This was where he really wished members of Fairy Tail were jackasses. They were always ready to assist someone whether they were going to get paid or not. It sucked since Urian was hiding from Mirajane and Adamine. More people knew where he was, and the more people that knew, the worse this situation was getting for him.

This had to have been Loki's handiwork. It had Loki written all over it. The god was always playing tricks on him. When Urian wanted to do something one way, the god would make sure that Urian's path got destroyed. Loki was always guiding Urian through paths filled with briars and embarrassment. The fact that Urian shifted into a human in the arms of another man? Oh, yeah. It had to be Loki's doing.

"Alright, Elfman. It'd be awesome if you helped me, but we've got to keep this man to man. No one else needs to know I'm here. Alright?"

Elfman smacked a fist against his broad chest. "Man to man!" he repeated.

Two pairs of blue eyes peeked out of Elfman's bedroom door. Glacial blue scanned the hallway for any movement, and dark, ocean blue made sure that no one's doors let them get a view of the two males.

"Clear on this end," Urian whispered. He narrowed his eyes then made a move to leave. As soon as he did, Elfman's massive paw latched onto him.

"Wait!" Elfman hissed. "Mira's door is open. Let me see if she's asleep before we leave." He motioned for Urian to move from the doorway, and as soon as Urian was out of the way, Elfman stepped in the hallway.

With a stealth that didn't matter due to his size, Elfman tiptoed down the hall. His eyes scanned for any kind of motion. Blue orbs ran from the single line of white-yellow light pouring from Mirajane's room to the many pictures that lined the hallway. Flattening himself against a pale orange wall, Elfman peered inside of his elder sister's bedroom.

Urian could feel his teeth getting ready to chew a hole through his bottom lip. Man, oh, man. This was completely sucky. He couldn't stay here. He needed to get his wallet and get a hotel room. He needed to be on his way ASAP.

His eyes checked out the variety of wooden planks that ran lengthwise in the hallway. Since Urian was barefoot, he wouldn't make a sound on that floor. Thank Firmalione.

As soon as Elfman tossed his chin in the direction of the living room, Urian crept through the hallway. His eyes followed the white trimmed baseboards of the hallway, but as soon as they broke to reveal Mirajane's bedroom, his stupid eyes betrayed him.

Going slack jawed, Urian couldn't help himself. Mirajane was tossed out on her bed. She had a magazine draped across her chest, and her slim hand was still on the spine of the bound papers. Mira looked like she'd fallen asleep there and hadn't moved since. There were only two sides of Mirajane that Urian had ever seen. In Lancet he'd gotten to witness her destructive, demonic beauty, and in the guild he was given the privilege of seeing her innocent, pure side. Both sides were stunning, but this… This was something Urian had never seen.

Mirajane was completely undone. Without her consciousness choosing her actions, Urian was given the sight of a demoness at rest. Pale lips glistened from moonlight pouring in from the windows of her bedroom. Her mouth was made for kissing. With such a full pink bottom and a perfectly indented top lip, Urian could fantasize about kissing her all day, every day. As a matter of fact, he oftentimes found himself doing just that.

She also possessed beautiful waves upon waves of silken, ivory hair. Urian knew just how teasing she could be when she twirled one of those locks around her pinky finger. Those big, baby blues would gaze up at him and she would thoughtlessly grin. Around and around that lock of hair would twirl, tormenting him.

Urian felt like a moth being drawn to a flame. The god in him found a desirable demoness, and gods got what they wanted. His calloused hand laid flat on the trim around her door. His body wanted to move forward, to press his lips against the ones gleaming in the midnight shimmer of the moon. His tongue dabbed at his bottom lip then his teeth ran across the same piece of plump skin.

"Urian, are you coming?" Elfman wondered, and Urian bit down on a yelp. Where the hell had Elfman come from?

Biting down on his tongue, Urian gave a sharp nod. Internally, he berated, _Stupid. Stupid, man. Dude, get over it. M-I-R-A is out of your league. Besides, you've got more important things to be doing than chasing one girl. There are hundreds, thousands, of them out there. Just find someone else and forget about her._

He mentally punched himself upside the head then made his way down the hallway. As soon as Urian's body entered the patch of moonlight spilling onto their hardwood floors, he heard Mira whisper, "-rian."

Talk about stroking a man's ego. To Urian's utter horror he felt a shaft of pleasure start in his bare feet then shoot to his chest where it fanned out in all kinds of warm, girlie shit that made Urian want to puke.

His teeth ground against each other. Straightening his back and forcing himself to don a mask of indifference, Urian kept walking until he met Elfman in the living room. "You okay?" Elfman wondered, raising an ivory brow.

Urian's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? I'm good. Are _you_ okay?" His voice was tense despite the leash he was trying to keep on his emotions. There was no other way to explain it other than to admit that Urian was embarrassed that he'd been caught staring.

Elfman ignored the tension in Urian's words. His head turned in the direction of unconscious and gracelessly sleeping Cana.

Somehow, in sleep Cana's leg had wound up hefted onto the back of the couch. Her mouth was hung wide open in pre-hangover snoozing. She was KOed. They'd be able to slip around her.

Elfman gave a tight nod of his head then motioned for Urian to follow him. The heavy, wooden door of House Strauss opened up then slipped quietly locked behind him. When the two males were out on the streets, Urian couldn't help but loosen a pent up breath.

"Alright, Urian, where did you last see your wallet?" Elfman asked, cutting straight to the chase.

Urian's long hand slipped up behind his neck. "Well, I shifted into my dog state not too far from your house. I don't know which road."

* * *

Lips curled into a wide grin as a god sat atop Kardia Cathedral. It'd been a while since the last time Loki had gotten a chance to see his adopted son. Apparently, it had been too long. The ignorant boy hadn't even recognized his father when he'd ran into him on the road.

Even though Loki had been shapeshifted into the state of an ugly, old woman named Marlene, Urian still should have been able to recognize the type of Shifter Magic. It was an advanced version of the same magic but named Skinwalking.

Loki shook his head then withdrew a long cigarette from between his lips. His eyes followed the God Slayer as he and one of the Strauss siblings strolled the streets looking for a wallet. Loki's grin merely widened.

His long fingers snatched onto said wallet. Urian's time to find his father was coming. That time was sooner rather than later, but Loki just had to get his son to Crocus first. An angel had arisen, and Loki was going to make sure that angel got sent back down into the pit where she belonged.

Not only had an angel arisen, but Thor, that bastard, was looking for Loki. There was no telling what the Electric Socket wanted with his much better looking and more fun acting fellow god, but Loki had to make sure to keep him away from Urian.

Loki had plans, big plans, for his son. Thor's unfortunate appearance had, for lack of a more technical term, fucked up those plans.

The ice god sneered in the direction of the heavens overhead. He'd been banished from Asgard ages ago, but it hadn't meant that Loki never intended to return. With the appearance of the fallen angel named Umbrianna, the angel of Hell's Gate, Loki had the perfect plan to get Odin, Freya, and all those other stuck up gods to acknowledge Loki as the wonderful piece of art that he was. He just had to get Urian to Crocus and get Thor to go back to Asgard.

Now, how exactly could Loki get his son to Crocus?

The god leaned back on the steeple of Kardia Cathedral. He already had one plan to get Urian to Crocus, and that plan had to deal with a certain Demon Take Over mage. The white haired barmaid had captured Urian's eye even though Loki had warned his son of women's trickster hearts. Never had Loki thought that he would be pulling his own son's affections in the direction of a female, but he was doing just that.

Mirajane Strauss was the key to Crocus, and Loki just needed to get Urian on the first train to the pageant.

Leaping off his perch, Loki decided it was time to send Lisanna on a search for Prince Urian of Lancet.


	5. Fine Print

Fine Print

A strange voice had Lisanna being pulled from her dreams. Her thickly lashed eyes fluttered as she gradually woke. "Find Elfman," the voice urged. That sultry shiver of sound coated over Lisanna's body like an embrace. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she perceived her hair behind stroked away from her pale skin.

Lips parted on a breath when Lisanna's dream, one of the past between her and Natsu, shifted. Her hands had been holding the egg that had contained a young Happy, and then her hands were empty. The warm light that had been filtering into their thatch playhouse had changed to a darkened street coming nearer to the dawn light.

Lisanna's hands found their way to her face, and she swept a lock of ivory hair out of her eyes. Tucking it behind her ear, Lisanna realized she was standing on the same street where she'd found Cana and the puppy.

Except, this time it was different. Instead of seeing a large jacket with a black dog underneath it, Lisanna's hands unveiled a familiar face. Prince Urian of Lancet was knocked out. His thick eyelashes were framed to cast spiky shadows across his sun kissed skin. The native of a cold, northwestern country was laid out on the streets.

Questions formed in her mind, but she didn't voice them. This dream was surreal. It was too unnatural. To make sure it was a dream, Lisanna reached up to pinch her skin. Strangely, she felt the tension of her skin as it fed to pain receptors in her skull.

"Am I really dreaming?" she breathed in the direction of the unconscious male. All that question got her was a grunt coming from Urian's lips. Spiky lashes moved, and Lisanna bent down to watch him rise.

A hand pulled up from Urian's side. Pushing himself up, Urian gazed down. His light blue eyes were mirrored and cold. They appeared blind in the dawn light.

"Urian?" she called out then immediately snapped her mouth shut. Her words were elongated like she was talking into a tunnel. They ran all the way through the streets and reverberated against buildings before fading off like a haunting whisper. What was up with this dream?

Lisanna didn't get too much time to keep questioning herself. Urian's body was rising. He moved woodenly, rigidly like he was being piloted by some otherworldly force. When he finally got up on two feet, he stared straight through Lisanna.

Her brows flew up when his mouth opened and no sound came out. He held that pose with those glassy eyes for a while. Abruptly, two hands clenched tightly to Lisanna's shoulders. Urian looked to be trying to say something. His eyes were so wide and his grip was tight.

When she finally heard a word, it was something completely unsuspected. "Help."

That simple word, just that tiny little word… It sent a wave of chills running down her spine. Urian's body locked up entirely. Black came out of his eyes like tears. They flowed slowly at first, almost naturally in this strange scenario. Then, black moisture poured. Like a dam had been breached black liquid oozed from Urian's eyes. It was the same color of his god magic.

Lisanna's mouth went agape. She clenched tightly at Urian. "Urian! Urian, what's going on with you?"

The liquid from his eyes just kept pouring. It looked like the liquefied version of his magic was dripped out into the ground. It stained his face in an inky black. It ran onto the cobblestone streets to gradually fill the entire pathway up with moisture where they stood.

Her hands held onto Urian. With her heart hammering in her chest, Lisanna watched the black liquid pool around her feet. She tried to avoid, tried to step away from it, but it followed her.

"Find them," Urian's mouthed pleaded with that haunting voice. It wasn't his own. The voice was unfamiliar. It was distorted, raspier. "Find them!" he cried.

Hands that had been holding onto her for support suddenly threw her. Lisanna's body tumbled backwards, and she braced herself against a bridge. The rock wall held her up, but it too was wet. Moisture was raining down. It was a colorful moisture. Pinks, blues, purples, greens… All the colors of the rainbow were pouring down.

Strangely, Lisanna's mind understood. This wasn't rain. It was magic.

Her eyes widened when people stumbled out of their homes. Magic of every color poured from people's faces. They cried it out, but there was one phrase that kept coming from their mouths.

"Find them!" the voices demanded of Lisanna.

Her hands braced against the bridge. As more people with colorful tears in their eyes approached, Lisanna's flight or fight response went closer and closer to going haywire.

She gripped the bridge tighter. Her eyes glanced over, looking for a quick escape from these zombified humans, but as soon as she looked over the bridge, she saw something.

In the heart of Magnolia there was a second Urian. He and Elfman were walking calmly, quietly. They passed through the bodies of the howling mages without notice. Their bodies were phantoms in this strange world. Lisanna belonged with them.

"Find them!" a voice called, too close for comfort.

Hastily, Lisanna leaped over the side of the bridge. Her legs seemed to be floating in air despite what should have been a hard fall. Her body felt like it was being guided, being drawn.

She ran. She ran in the direction of Urian and Elfman, and when her hands touched a sobbing mage to get towards the two, the bodies closed in on her. Palm reaching out, Lisanna called for them. Her voice echoed in this fathomless void, bouncing off of everything that the sound waves touched.

More bodies closed in. She was as inch by inch Elfman and Urian were stolen from her line of sight. Her fingers reached out. Just when it looked like she was going to be able to break free, her hand merely skimmed the skin of someone familiar.

Multi colored magic dripped down the face of a Fairy Tail comrade. She gaped in absolute horror as she took in the sights of her allies faces. Everyone was leaking magic from their eyes. It drained from their eyes to leave tracks on their skin.

A scream clawed its way upwards from her voice box. She could feel the muscles of her vocal chords tightening in a shrill scream, and when her vision was stolen in a mass of color, Lisanna found herself leaping from her bed.

Her hand gripped her heaving chest. "A dream," she forced herself to admit. "Just a dream."

"Or is it?" a voice wondered from a darkened corner in her bedroom.

Lisanna's eyes shot wide. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to look or not to the direction the voice called her from. Taking down an audible gulp, Lisanna let her eyes roam. She looked around. As soon as she got to where a pair of boot wearing feet, the voice snapped, "Nuh-uh. That's as much of a tease as you get, little girl."

Wow. If that wasn't a very Bickslow-like comment, Lisanna had never heard one in her life. He'd better not be the one messing with her right now. It was nowhere near Halloween, and even though Bickslow and his girlfriend claimed that they were going to have Halloween on Christmas this year, Lisanna was not feeling up for it.

Forcing herself to swallow the fear steadily inching up her body, Lisanna asked the pair of feet, "Who are you?"

The shadowy form looked like it was checking its nails. "Oh, no one special. Who are you?"

No. That voice wasn't Bickslow. Lisanna had no clue who this voice belonged to. Even so, Lisanna wanted to let the voice keep thinking that it had the upper hand. Lisanna would play its game, and she'd figure out what it wanted by doing so. "L-Lisanna Strauss," she admitted.

"I was just playing, child. I know your name." He let out an exhalation of breath. "You were supposed to answer me by asking 'Why are you in my room'."

Lisanna's brow twitched. This voice was weird. Weren't demons and other kinds of beasties supposed to just eat you? Unnerved and annoyed at the same time, Lisanna spoke, "Alright. Fine then. Why are you in my room?"

"Fabulous question!" the voice chimed. He tossed something at her. "Here! Have a cooperation badge."

Staring in shock at the sticker that landed on her bed, Lisanna was suddenly feeling like this was one big, cheesy prank. Still, she kept quiet, playing the game.

"Well, Miss Lisanna, I'm just your friendly neighborhood trickster. I'm here to send you on a mission to find my son. Name's Urian. He's about yay high, has jet black hair, and stunning good looks the same as moi, but you can't see said looks. Forget I said that then."

Lisanna was really feeling like this was a prank now. Who the hell was in her room, and why was he messing with her?

The voice continued, "Anyway, Urian and I haven't been around each other for a long, long time, and I have an appointment to meet him in Crocus. There's a certain man that I need him to meet. You should know of him. Goes by the name of Thor, the great and douche baggy." He finally stopped talking.

Taking that as her incentive, Lisanna asked the feet, "Urian isn't even in Magnolia. No one's seen him since we came back from the kingdom Lancet. Why pick me for this job instead of his cousin?" Even though, Lisanna was slightly annoyed and bewildered by this mad man, she couldn't help but note a few things.

Her room was noticeably colder than Lisanna liked to keep it. In the small patch of light that Lisanna could see of the shadowy man in the corner, she also noticed a silver armband that matched Urian's. It was even engraved with the same, strange lettering. The reference to Thor. The mention that Urian was his son. This couldn't be the trickster god… Loki? Could it be? Why would a god want to talk to her?

The male did another one of those impatient sounded exhales again. He propped a foot up on the wall of Lisanna's bedroom. "Well, you see, Lisanna, I would have gone to Adamine, but she left to Lancet because King Isaac—you know, Urian's brother—caught a case of amnesia when a fallen angel attacked his ship to Fiore. It's because of that stupid flying monkey that I need Urian to go to Crocus ASAP. Since Urian has an unholy crush on your big sister, I figured that you could work out a reason for him to go to Crocus."

"But Urian still isn't in Magnolia. Unless you're asking me to take on a job to find him, I don't really know where to start looking for him," she admitted, gradually coming around to the idea that she was speaking to the ice god Loki himself. Astounding. An ice god. In her bedroom. How cool was that? Pun intended.

There was a shifting of clothing as Loki ran a hand through his hair. He explained, "Actually, Lisanna, my son is in Magnolia. You saw him today. Right now, he's with Elfman. I suggest you go see him." He looked to check the moonlight outside. "Ah. I must be off. Santa Claus is surely planning to give good little boys and girls, like yourself, gifts this year, and I need to give Krampus his list of bad little boys and girls so he can punish them. Have a lovely day and don't forget to look under your bed for the Boogie Man."

Krampus? Wait a second. Lisanna had heard of him. He was the opposite of Santa. Or something like that. Instead of giving good kids rewards on Christmas, he punished them by giving them coal. Or eating them. Lisanna heard rumor of him. Then, Lisanna's mind seized on something.

She gasped, "Santa's real!"

The shadowy figure moved. With only his broad back to her, Loki laughed, "Of course, Santa's real. Great Odin, if you can turn into a fish or cat then why can't Santa Claus be real?" His laughter stopped, and he gave Lisanna a mere glimpse of his face. Her eyes caught pale skin and dark blue eyes. "And, Lisanna?"

"Yes?"

"Your job statement is on your bed. Make sure you read the fine print."

Lisanna glanced down. Where the sticker that he'd thrown at her had once been was replaced by a job. Eagerly, she snatched up the paper. Across the front explained the same details she'd gone over with Loki, but when Lisanna turned to the back, she breathed, "Reward: I will gift you with the art of Shifter Magic, perhaps even Skinwalking if you do everything right."

She could have squealed. Shifter Magic! It was like her Take Over on steroids! Lisanna could already imagine how much stronger that magic would make her. Even as she reveled in the prospect, Loki's ominous addition lurked in her head.

Getting down to business, Lisanna's baby blues scanned around. She searched the paper from top to bottom. She looked as closely as she could for the fine print. Even after flipping it upside down, Lisanna couldn't find a single thing.

She turned it to a near exact forty-five degree angle, and finally, she caught sight of something. It was fine print sure enough. As a matter of fact, it looked like a tiny speck. Lisanna would need a magic magnifying glass to even be able to see it.

Deciding that she would look at it later, Lisanna laid the parchment on her dresser. She could speak with Levy and Mirajane about her mission. As soon as she hastened towards Elfman's bedroom, she heard Loki's voice explain, "Don't tell anyone."

* * *

Feet moved slowly across the wooden floors of the guild. Elfman had a key to the place, and since their luck at finding Urian's wallet and clothing had wound up fruitless, the two of them decided to take a break in the guild.

Flopping down in one of the many chairs, Urian sprawled his upper torso across it. He was still wearing Elfman's super floppy clothes, and they bunched up all the way to his elbows. He looked like he was melting due to the amount of excess cloth draped on him. The guy was freaking huge! Not only was he broad, but he was taller than Urian. If only Adamine's Seith Mage was here then Urian could borrow something from that guy's six foot and three inch wardrobe.

Suddenly, Urian pulled up in his seat. "Yo, Elfman!" Urian called to the guy searching the bar's Lost and Found.

Elfman's super spiked up ivory head popped up from behind the bar. "Whatcha needin'?"

"You know if my cousin's in?"

Elfman seemed to ponder that question for a moment. His brawny body leaned against the counter, and his white brows furrowed. "I don't think so. I heard from Mira that she had to go to Lancet because of something to do with the Normans. Makes it easier on us to hide you. Eh?"

Urian slowly shook his head. "And… Bickslow? Do you know if he went with her?"

Now Elfman looked suspicious. Even so, he answered, "He didn't. What are you trying to get at, Urian?"

Scratching the back of his neck, Urian laughingly admitted, "I'm thinking about stealing some of his clothes. He's the only one in the guild that's a similar height and build to me. Then again, does he even own normal clothes?"

Elfman snickered. A particular image of super model Urian Lancet sporting Bickslow's attire flashed in his head. Oh, yeah. Image captured and saved in his memory bank. That was way too funny to forget. Despite the imaginings Elfman mentioned, "You're planning on breaking into your cousin's house. What if Bickslow's in there? You know he moved in with her."

"He's as bad as Mina when it comes to sleep. He likely wouldn't even realize that I snuck in. What time is?"

Elfman leaned around to check out a clock hanging on the wall. It was just now turning to the sixth hour. "Six. Mira's going to be coming in soon. Why don't we just wait and get her to get you some clothes? It'd make more sense than all of this sneaking around. Right?"

Urian's hackles rose. No. No. It wouldn't make more sense. Urian was hiding from Mirajane. The fact that Adamine was gone was helpful, but Elfman didn't know not to tell Mira that Urian was hanging around in Magnolia. Man, it would've been extremely convenient if Cana hadn't passed out drunk on him last night. This all could have been avoided if one woman didn't get smack down drunk.

"No. I like this idea better," he dodged. "The less people that know I'm in Magnolia means the less people that might get word back to Adamine." With the impending dorkiness that was sure to come when Urian caught sight of Mira looming over his head, Urian rose from the table. "We'd better get going if we don't want anyone to find me."

Even though Elfman looked suspicious of something, the large male merely nodded. Soon enough, the two guys were heading out the door in the direction of the outskirts of Magnolia.

* * *

Lisanna's bare feet padded down the hardwood floors until she reached Elfman's bedroom door. To her surprise it was cracked open. Tilting her head, Lisanna stepped inside. Brows rising at the sight of a fist sized hole in the wall, Lisanna examined obvious signs of a fight.

A fight? In Elfman's room? Well, Lisanna and Mira had heard the sounds of scuffling last night.

So… was Loki right about Elfman and Urian being around each other right now? Lisanna shook her head. Na. Couldn't have been. There was nothing but a black dog with…

It clicked. Suddenly, it all made sense. That dog was Urian. Well, that definitely explained all the human-like barking and the ear piercings. Hot flush ran across her skin as Lisanna remembered holding Urian in his dog form, and then her face turned beat red when she thought about Elfman taking dog Urian to his room.

Push came to shove, and Lisanna noted that Urian's clothes had still been on the road. Lisanna hadn't been able to carry the dog, a drunken mage, and those clothes home. She assumed that Cana had been playing strip poker at the bar again.

Her face burned hot. If Urian couldn't retain clothing when he shifted, that meant that he was naked in Elf's bed… with… Elfman… Her eyes widened impossibly larger. Slamming two hands down across her lips, Lisanna squealed.

The images went through her head before she could stop them. Elfman and Urian cuddling. The two of them snuggling up together comfortably until Urian shifted and then… Oh, Mavis!

That explained the hole in the wall. Elfman went into a berserk rage. Not that Lisanna could blame him, but the image of Urian and Elf cuddled up together was forever burned and engraved inside of her skull. That image wasn't going anywhere.

Her laugh/squeal was interrupted when Mirajane stepped into the hallway. She was dressed and ready to go to the guild. It was her day to open up since the master was meeting with other guild masters today. He'd be out for the week, so he'd been pleasantly surprised when the guild pageant had come across their desk. Surely, the master didn't think that getting the guild out of Magnolia would lessen the amount of paperwork he had.

"Lisanna, are you okay?" Mirajane wondered.

Suddenly, Loki's voice rang in her head. "Don't tell anyone."

She bit down on the inside of her lip then whirled around in a flurry of white locks. "Fine! Perfectly fine, sis. I just saw a huge cockroach run this way."

Mirajane leaped up on one foot. "C-cockroach? A-are you s-sure?"

Okay, perhaps that was a low blow given that oversized bugs were Mira's weakness, but hey, Lisanna was just using the ammunition she had on hand. Besides, she couldn't let Mira find out. That was the same reason that Lisanna had her mission tucked neatly inside of the back pocket of her shorts.

Lisanna gave a sharp nod of her head. "Yup! I'm getting outta here to go get something to kill it. Ya know what they say, 'Once you finally see one, you have an infestation'."

Breezing passed her sister, Lisanna heard Mira hiss, "Infestation…"

Hastily, Lisanna dipped out of the house and into the streets ahead. If Elfman left, it was likely either to find Urian some clothes, or it was to find Adamine. Still, something was bothering Lisanna. Why would Urian shift if he was looking for Adamine? Was he trying to hide from someone?

With those thoughts in her mind, Lisanna darted off in the direction of Adamine's cave.

According to Loki, the adamantine dragon slayer wasn't in Magnolia but overseas. Even so, Urian wouldn't know that. Going to Mina's house first seemed like the best idea. Still, she really hoped that Bickslow was clothed. The last time someone had gone to their home without telling the couple had resulted in them walking in on a naked Seith Mage and Dragon Slayer.

Praying that she wouldn't require eye bleach, Lisanna continued on her way.

* * *

To call Adamine's house a cave, would likely be an insult. Urian had snuck by Magnolia to get a glimpse of it when it was under construction. Using help from the Raijinshuu, Laxus, Gajeel, and Levy, Adamine had carved out a deep cave that was laid inside of a rock face. Freed and Levy had wrote explosion on words and in runes to blast holes out then Adamine and Gajeel had gone in to carve out the cave. It was a work of art that rivaled even the famous architect Antoni Gaudi.

It was up to Evergreen to select interiors. Laxus and Black Pearl had done the heavy lifting in order to get furniture inside of the home. Speaking of, most of the furniture had been made by Bickslow himself. No one knew just how skilled he was in the art of woodcraft until he and Adamine set about carving things from stone and building things from wood.

As Urian glowered at the front entry to the cave, he remembered something. Instead of using a door to keep people from entering and exiting, Freed had set up runes. Adamine had holes sporadically placed like skylights in the walls and roof of the home. It allowed pure sunlight to rain down in her underground dwelling, and Freed had sealed animals and intruders from getting inside. Urian just wondered if he would be considered an intruder.

Reading Urian's silence, Elfman explained, "You should be good." He pointed to the runes and read, "Only those who are deemed worthy by Adamine are permitted within this structure. Notice that this can change due to Adamine's current mood about you. Yes, Bickslow. This is about if and when the two of you get into an argument. You've been warned."

Well, that didn't really make Urian feel any better. The two of them hadn't exactly left each other on good terms. Adamine had urged Urian to join Fairy Tail the whole time that they'd been on the ship back to Fiore. For once in his life, Urian remembered praying that her Troia pills would run out, and she would get horrible motion sickness to shut her up. Urian hadn't been so lucky.

After the two had hit the docks, Adamine had snapped, "I don't understand what's up with you, Urian. If you join Fairy Tail, we can look for Loki together while taking on jobs. It'd be nice to pair up with someone other than the Raijinshuu and Laxus—no offense—since they need to do their own thing sometimes."

She'd been more annoyed than pissed at him. Even so, Urian was positive he'd be denied access into her home. Deciding that he'd better get this over with sooner than later, Urian moved towards the runes.

His face scrunched up into a wince when he passed the threshold. He was expecting a wall to come and bonk him in the face. Nothing happened. His brows flew up in surprise. Mina wasn't pissed at him. Nice.

Urian's light blue eyes glanced around the house. It was... lavish. A stream of water ran straight through her home. It weaved all around the entry/living space to make an inward focus with the furniture. Four stones were set into the floor to create little bridges to cross the stream. When he took note of the wooden, Spartan styled furniture, Urian realized there wasn't a nail put anywhere in it. Bickslow had managed to joint the furniture together. That took skill.

His admiration of the rustically modern interior was deterred when Elfman explained, "This way. Bix and Mina's bedroom is down here." He gestured to what appeared to be a downstairs.

Hastening forward, Urian proceeded to make a spiral descent into Adamine's living quarters. It was astoundingly light. The many skylights Adamine had put down lit the place up in a dawn glow. Red light warmed the grey walls. Suddenly, the compressed space opened up. A domical ceiling with a massive oculus greeted him, and Urian's mouth could have gaped at the architectural marvel.

The walls were lined with sculpted in bookshelves. Literature lined the wall, and right where the oculus beamed down was the stone engraving of Adamine's mother dragon Firmalione. True to her typical carvings, Adamine had put diamonds in where the dragon's eyes were.

Still, despite the beauty of it all, Urian didn't see bedrooms anywhere. "Where's the bedrooms?"

Elfman cast him a grin like he was going to reveal the secret of life. He stepped to the diamond in the floor. After tapping his foot down twice, four massive archways were revealed from behind what should have been a flat, stone wall. Adamine and her gadgets. She really should have been an architect.

"Down this hall is the bathing chamber. She has hot springs fueled by a fire lacrima to heat it," Elfman explained, giving Urian a tour like he owned the place. "The entire place is lined in surround sound, Laxus' idea, and down here—" Elfman approached the most elegant of the semi-circular archways. He motioned to a grand master bedroom. "—is the master."

Adamine had a very modern looking canopy bed. The sheer canopy was held up on golden rods to contrast with the grey stone of the walls, and it twisted around instead of being held up on a rod by a four post bed. The bed would have looked beautiful and elegant had Bickslow's naked body not been draped across it like a virgin sacrifice.

Praise Firmalione that a sheet was crossed over his hips or Urian would have required eye bleach. That or Memory Do Not Make Magic.

Bickslow rolled in his sleep. He gripped Adamine's pillow tight like he missed the woman that should have been there. The motion was so adorable that it gave Urian leverage fodder. Pulling a small Image Captor from his back pocket, Urian hastily snapped a picture of the sleeping mage.

"Leverage," Urian intoned when Elfman gave him an odd look. "This'll give me enough leverage that even if he does find out I was here, he can't tell Adamine. Listen, man, you gotta think about these things."

"You don't think that I could have a copy of that then?" He got flustered, hot in the face. "I may need it for the next time that he tries to mess with me about…"

"Evergreen?" Urian filled in with an arched brow. "The cat's outta the bag with that one, man. Just let it go."

Elfman huffed, "Just hurry up and find some clothes."

Urian's hands shot up in surrender. "Fine. Fine. I'm moving."

Urian's feet silently padded over towards where an indention had been put into the stone. Hoping this was the right thing, Urian pressed his hands against it. He drew the stone wall back with a surprisingly easy movement, but as soon as the wall moved out of the way, he immediately wished it was back where it'd been.

He gave a hard gulp at the sight. My… Adamine and Bickslow were… kinky. And that was putting it lightly. Urian's eyes scanned over whips, chains, and fuzzy handcuffs against his will. Suddenly the notch on the canopy bed made sense. Urian was one part disgusted, and one part intrigued. Adamine Terra and Bickslow Polterom were… freaks.

"Is this what I think it is?" Elfman wondered over Urian's shoulder. Light blue eyes looked over his shoulder, and Urian got to witness Elfman's jaw hanging loose in, well, disgust/interest.

There were all kinds of kinky outfits from cat ears to dominatrix leather. And here Urian had always thought that Mina was ignorant in the ways of sex. Well, she sure showed him.

"Jealous much, Elfman?" Bickslow snickered out of the blue. Two male bodies leaped into the air, and both of the guys spun around to find Bickslow leaned up against the headboard of his big, round bed.

"B-B-Bickslow, you were awake!" Elfman nearly shrieked.

Urian completely forgot the sex drawer—well, actually, no, more like sex closet—behind him and gaped at a beaming Bickslow.

Bickslow explained, "Yup. The runes automatically alert whoever's in the house about who just came in. I've been watching you with my babies the whole time." Five little souls floated out in the form of indiscriminate objects from a book to a pencil.

"So all those times that people from the guild walked in on you and Adamine, you two just never put clothes on?" Elfman realized in, once more, disgust/interest. If only he could get Evergreen to be that relaxed… No! No! His brain did not need to go there.

"Exactly!" Bickslow cheered with his babies mirroring his cry. "So, Urian, you want to tell me why I shouldn't call Mina right here and now to say that you're standing in our master bedroom checking out our fun closet?" His brow cocked up.

Uh-huh. Bickslow thought that he was holding all of the cards. Well, he most definitely was not. Urian tossed his Image Captor in the air. "I've got leverage on you! That's why! How do you feel about the whole guild seeing your naked body cuddling my cousin's pillow and whispering, 'Ah, Mina' into the bed sheets?"

Bickslow's grin didn't even falter. If anything it got bigger, with a flash of green in his eyes, Bickslow commanded, "Crush." The camera in Urian's hands was rendered to crumbly bits in a matter of seconds. "As you were saying?"

Shit! There went that plan. Damn Bickslow and his power over his poltergeists!

"Come on, man! I can't let Mina find me out. You know how she's been with me here lately." Okay. Commencing plan two, plead for your life.

Bickslow didn't look impressed. His crimson eyes rolled upwards towards Elfman. The big male flinched under his gaze. Oh, yeah. Bix had all the power here. This was awesome! Not!

"And, you? Why shouldn't I tell Evergreen that I found you going through my kink closet?" He gave a pause as he savored the distraught look on the male's face. "Huh. How would Evergreen take it when I hinted that you wanted to do more than just missionary?"

"How the hell do you know that?" Elfman roared, looking like he was two steps from seething rage and fleeing for his life all at the same time.

Bickslow's brows rose. Huh. He hadn't expected Elfman to put the truth to that rumor so quickly. Interesting. What else were the two lacking in their love life? Maybe, Bix and Mina should get them some toys for Evergreen's spring birthday? Bix was totally glad that he was recording this conversation. He'd have to play it back for Laxus and Adamine. They would love this!

Bickslow simply responded, "I've got my ways. Hmm. What to do? What to do?" He stretched his arms along the headboard of the bed and gazed upwards just to draw out the moment.

The way the guys were squirming was perfect. It was almost like Bickslow had possessed them!

"I'll do anything!" Elfman finally blurted out after holding it all in for so long.

Urian fell to his knees and proclaimed, "Me, too! Anything! I'm already in with Cana over the same thing, but I can't let anyone know I'm here."

Bickslow's smirk couldn't have gotten any wider. "Alright then, I've got a couple of ideas."


	6. Catching Urian

Catching Urian

When Lisanna finally made her way to what Evergreen liked to call the Bixamine Love Nest, she hastily dashed over the stream that ran through the living room and dashed towards the downstairs' bedrooms. Her feet quickly bounced their way along the stone steps that had been hand carved by Adamine and Gajeel themselves.

Typically, Lisanna would have admired the dragon slayer's work. Adamine had not only carved out the steps, but the lore of the dragon goddess Firmalione had been engraved into the walls. In work just as beautiful as the manga that Adamine created, the Three Prophecies, also known as the Tale of Three Orphans, was dug into the walls.

The legacies that were supposed to come true with the arrival of three related slayers were written on the walls. The stories were so long and so wonderful that not even Levy and Lucy had finished reading all the glyphs on the walls. Adamine had entire stories written into the walls in multiple languages. All of the history that Adamine had collected since she was five years old was stored here. In Adamine's secret, underground museum. The place was a haven for people like Levy, Freed, and Lucy. They were always down here.

Lisanna frequented as well since Elfman was always coming down here with Ever all the time. Where Levy was already at the engravings in the stairwell, Lisanna was just getting into the ones in the living room.

Her fingers ran lovingly over the artwork on the walls until she finally came to the bottom step. As soon as her feet hit the floor, her head cocked to the side. Usually, the four moveable stone slabs that sealed off the bedrooms were closed. Currently, the diamond in Firmalione's right eye was pushed down, flaunting two guest bedrooms, the master, and the hot springs.

Did that mean Bickslow was up? Slowly, Lisanna stepped closer to the master bedroom. It would be strange for Bix to be up this early. He got up around midday unless he had something to do. Guy had a tendency to lurk outside and on rooftops. Now that Adamine was around, the two of them haunted midnight Magnolia together.

Still, Lisanna kept her ears open. Evergreen and Freed had complained enough about the fact that the couple was often less than decent when people came in without an invite, and sometimes, the invite didn't even mean one wasn't going to get a show.

With her hand already inching its way up her face, Lisanna peeked inside of the master bedroom. Two fingers parted, and she raised a brow at Urian shuffling into some borrowed clothing of Bickslow's.

"You've got to be kidding me," Urian grumbled as he pulled on some of Bickslow's baggy pants. "People are going to think I'm a bloody cosplayer."

"Oi! Your life is in my hands. Don't complain about the rules when you're the one who set them up," Bickslow snickered.

"Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. Man, you'd better be glad that you're with my cousin, or else I would kill you for this." Urian reached over to untuck a hood from a black shirt. "Do I really gotta wear the hood?"

"Na. I'll let you get by with that. You look ridiculous enough as it is. Heh. Heh. I can see it already. _Sorcerer Weekly_! Urian Lancet, the King of Womanizers the World Over, loves cosplay." Bickslow looked like he was enjoying some secret pleasure, some kind of weight he was holding over Urian's head.

It appeared that Urian wasn't the only one Bickslow had one over on. Elfman was in there, too. In his hands was the same piece of paper that Mira had showed him, the one for the guild pageant. "Are you serious?"

"As serious as the fact that Freed has a Laxus complex," Bickslow intoned, beaming like a mad man. "Do you really want me discussing your little fetish with Evergreen?"

Fetish? Her big brother had a… Nope! Nope! Nope! Not going there. Not today. Not ever. Nuh-uh. Lisanna got uncomfortable chills running down her spine at the idea of her brother doing anything with anyone. Fetish or no fetish.

Deciding that she should intervene before she heard too much, Lisanna called, "Hey, Bickslow, is Adamine in?"

"Oh, shit!" Urian hissed when he caught sight of Lisanna. "Shit, shit! Man, oh, man. Is everyone going to see me before the day is out?"

Bickslow made a hissing sound for Urian to shut up. Suddenly, his head popped out from behind the largest and most decorative of the arches. "Lisanna? What are you…" His eyes ran up to where Freed's runes explained that Lisanna had been in here for about five or so minutes. "Why are you looking for Mina?"

Lisanna tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Well, I'm not really looking for Adamine. I'm more so looking for her cousin, Urian. Did you hear about what happened to his brother?"

"Something happened to my brother?" Urian wondered. Lisanna could hear him hissing whispers to Elfman from behind the stone wall.

Just to tease him, Lisanna asked, "Is Elfman here? I hear voices in your room."

Bickslow stood at attention. His back straightened up perfectly. The tense movements belied his words. "Huh? Must be the TV. I was watching it. Must not have turned it off." Bickslow's totems suddenly flew into the room. The tiki heads cried, "Not have turned it off!"

He was so lying. Lisanna could tell it not only by body language but by his obvious dodging of her questions. Still, she played along. "So… Adamine?"

"Yeah, yeah. Adamine. Adam. Mina… Uh. What about Adamine?"

"Where is she?"

"Oh, right! Ya know, she left in a hurry last night. Packed a couple night's worth of clothes then ran like her feet were on fire. You said something happened to Isaac. What happened to him?"

Lisanna could feel an evil smirk making its way up her face. Bickslow always knew where Adamine was. He might not admit it. He might try to play it off like he was cool instead of being the complete dork he really was, but he definitely knew where Mina was. That and he probably didn't like that he wasn't there with her.

After hearing about their twelve year long history together, Lisanna could properly assume Bickslow was having Mina Withdrawals like Evergreen teased.

"I'm surprised that Adamine didn't tell you. I only recently heard it from Mira." A lie. Lisanna hadn't known anything until Loki had told her. Some part of her still couldn't get over the fact that a god had been speaking with her and offered to teach her magic. Would that make her a god slayer?

"You did, huh. Well, what did she say?" Bickslow was losing his nerve. Without his visor on Lisanna could see his eyes darting back towards the hushed whispers coming from the bedroom.

Deciding that she could use this as a reason to get Urian to Crocus, Lisanna, in a much more serious tone, explained, "King Isaac was on his way to Fiore to go to the guild pageant in Crocus. His ship was attacked. Some people say it was a Take Over Mage, an Angel Take Over, that came onto his ship." Lisanna still wasn't ready to believe in angels yet. Though, given the way things were looking, they were likely real.

As soon as the word angel slipped from Lisanna's lips, Urian's eyes shot wide. No longer could he stand still and question Elfman about his brother. Quickly, Urian leaped from the room. His hands snagged a hold onto Lisanna's shoulders. Urian cried, "Tell me what happened to Isaac!"

Big, blue eyes gaped up at him. Whether Lisanna was surprised or not to see him couldn't be told. Her lips were parted. Her eyes were round. All Urian wanted to get her to do was speak. Every second that she looked up at him in shock felt like a knife slowly digging deeper and deeper in his chest. If an angel was around, that meant that Isaac's prophecy was coming to fruition.

Each slayer had a prophecy, and now that all of Lancet knew that there was a royal Dragon Slayer, God Slayer, and Demon Slayer, they were waiting for the Three Prophecies to come true.

Adamine's was the best. It foretold freedom, human freedom.

"And she rises from the earth. The dragon bares its fangs, but she vanquishes it with a single blow. When the beast hits the ground, so will the shackles of tyranny…" That was the last excerpt in her legacy.

Isaac's was far from pleasant.

"From his body shall the beast be released. When the eye of darkness meets the light, it shall engulf all it sees."

Some people believed that reference was to hell. Others believed it to be the cast of Normans back to power, to that dark age of tyranny. Urian didn't give a damn what it meant. He just wanted to make sure that his big brother was safe. The theory was to go from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. According to prophecy a god, or god slayer in this case, was to mediate the good and evil. It was Urian's job to be the grey area between Adamine's emerald light and Isaac's inner darkness.

How the hell Urian was supposed to moderate two people he considered better than him was beyond him. Urian just knew that he was going to try to keep both Adamine and Isaac safe.

Blue eyes bored down inside of Lisanna. His biceps flexed in tension, and after what should have been just a couple of seconds but felt like hours, Lisanna proclaimed, "H-He was attacked! Some people think it was Normans who enlisted mage mercenaries. I don't know anything else, though!"

The tight hands around Lisanna immediately loosened. Urian ran a hand through his ebony hair. "Shit!" he roared. "Shit. Damn it! We're all screwed."

Inside of his head came Loki's haunting explanation. "I've got big plans for you, Uri. When there is hell on earth, you're going to be my ticket back to Asgard."

Those words blended far too well with Urian's god slayer prophecy. "Only when a god walks the earth can Hell be pushed back beyond that fiery gate."

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Prophecy. Smophecy. Urian had to get to Isaac before someone removed the mask sealing off his left eye. There had only been one time where Urian had gotten to see his brother's left eye, and that had been the day that an entire town got to witness a solar eclipse for a full day straight. The man had never removed the mask since, and when he did, he kept an eye patch over it.

In the midst of pitching a serious fit, one strong hand held Urian's arm. Like a manacle had locked him into place, Urian couldn't budge beneath the powerful hold.

Elfman asked, "What's wrong with you, Urian? Something's up. When we first met you, you acted nothing like this. You were laidback and fun to be around. Now, you're different."

Furrowing his brows, Urian looked to the people around him. Instead of seeing people to confide in, he merely saw victims. Victims that would be washed in the darkness, sucked dry of their magic power. Teeth gritted together. Urian couldn't let that happen, but damn, he was nothing but a playboy. How was one playboy god slayer going to stop a fallen angel from creating hell on earth?

"I need to find my wallet," Urian bit out. All he could think about was Loki. Loki. Loki. Loki. He had to know what was going on. The master of tricks knew more than he let on, and if Urian could get wrapped up tight in his adoptive father's web, he knew he could get to the heart of this situation. Loki would be able to fight the creature sealed within Isaac's body. What was a fallen angel to a fallen god?

Bickslow sneered. "He pitches a hissy fit, and when we ask him about it, all he has to say is 'Where's my wallet'. Your priorities are screwed up, Urian."

Urian's eyes cut Bickslow down. The look of dark rage that settled inside of ice blue eyes turned the ice to fire. "I figured you of all people would understand given Adamine's predilection to run headlong into the scent of danger."

Two crimson eyes rolled. "Let me guess. This another one of your Lancet prophecies? See! This _shit_ is why I don't have a religion. Worship a god. You die. Don't worship a god. You still die."

"Well, it's not like I asked for your help in the first place!" Urian tore his arm from Elfman's vice grip. As soon as he set to storming out of the room in search for his wallet, Bickslow's totems blocked his way. "Bickslow! Move your fucking dolls before I move them for you."

One hand slipped into the pocket of Bickslow's pants. Tapping Urian's forehead with his free hand, Bickslow commented, "No can do, Urian. You're Adamine's little cousin. She'd strip my skin off if I didn't help you out. Besides, I've got nothing better going on." Magic lit up around Bickslow's fingertips, and suddenly Urian sported, yet again, a change in attire. "And, you still owe me since I'm not going to tell her a single thing."

Urian blinked, still in a rage that was trying to ebb. Eyes jerked down to different clothes, and Urian realized Bickslow was letting him wear a different set of clothes. A pair of surprisingly well fitting light purple pants encased Urian's legs. He could feel something brushing up against his neck, and a high collared black shirt pressed flat against his throat. So… Bickslow did have normal clothes. Astounding.

More astounding was when Lisanna proclaimed, "I've got an idea for how to get you to Isaac!"

A black head swung around in her direction, and Urian settled his baby blues on the youngest of the Strauss siblings. "What do you have?"

"The Guild Pageant!" she explained with a cheer to her voice. Judging by the look of dread that crossed Urian's face, apparently that wasn't the kind of answer he was looking for.

Shaking his head, he grumbled, "Gotta find my wallet. Got information on Loki in there." He took a couple of steps, but Lisanna grabbed his forearm.

"Come on, Urian. There are two great reasons for you to be in the Guild Pageant. One reason is that Fairy Tail needs a sixth model to balance out with the girls. The second reason is that you have to get to Crocus."

Urian's eyes narrowed on her. Pulling himself out of her grip, he looked her over like he was checking to see if she had hidden motives somewhere on her person. "Why do I have to get to Crocus? If I just find Loki, then I can stop everything without letting everyone know I'm in Fiore. It's bad enough that all of you know." He gestured towards Bickslow and Elfman.

Lisanna shook her head. Loki's warning was still ringing loud and clear in her head, but if she could just tell Urian that the god was going to be in Crocus during the pageant, she would be able to get him there. Apparently, this wasn't going to be as easy as she hoped.

She pursed her lips in thought then explained, "Isaac's ship was on its way to Crocus when he was attacked. I haven't heard of whether he's in a hospital, or where his ship even landed at. I'm sure that if people know he was headed to Crocus that he was there, and if this prophecy is going to happen, why wouldn't a trickster god be in Crocus to watch it all unfold? They normally show up during big events. Right?" She cocked up her brow, hoping that Urian would take the bait. She had to get Urian to Crocus. The Guild Pageant was the easiest way to get him there. And, if everything turned out okay and Urian wound up being a model, Lisanna just helped Mira.

Still, judging by Loki's presence, things probably weren't going to be half as simple as Lisanna hoped.

Taking in a breath of air, Urian ran his fingers through the many spikes atop his skull. "It'd be nice to see my brother," he breathed, glancing towards the diamond lacrima in the center of the floor. "But, none of you can tell Adamine that I'm here. It's bad enough that all of Fairy Tail is going to know I'm around. She can find out when she gets back from Lancet." It just super sucked that Urian knew he was going to go super dweeb when he caught sight of Mirajane and damn it! Urian was probably going to have to talk to her. Ugh! He got all stupid when he was around her. Damn it. Man, this sucked.

* * *

Mirajane strolled through the guild with her hand on the side of her face. Her mind was still running through the potential victims that she could choose for the guild pageant. Laxus was here. Natsu and Gray had come back from the mission they'd taken to get away from her, and Lucy had returned. Mira could finally talk to Loki about partaking in the modeling.

Her body sashayed across the wooden planks as she made her way towards Team Natsu's table. Even though everyone called it Team Natsu, to Mira it was Team Lucy. These guys never worked together until Lucy Heartfilia had walked through the doors of the guild. As a matter of fact, a lot of things had changed since Lucy had shown up.

A new team had gotten created. Fairy Tail now has their very own Celestial Spirit Mage. Laxus is no longer a douchebag. Said dragon slayer and the Raijinshuu actually hang around the guild now. Lisanna was even back. If you asked Mirajane, Lucy's presence had caused the guild to change for the better. Perhaps, it wasn't her exact existence in the guild that made all those events happen, but the mage who didn't enjoy constant brawling had definitely taken part in every single moment.

Thinking to herself, Mirajane finally made her way to the table. "How was the job?" Mirajane greeted with a smile creeping up her face at a certain response. As soon as she had appeared, Natsu and Gray leaped backwards and run off. Mira would have her turn with them later. For now, she had to secure Loki.

Blonde hair lifted, and Lucy shifted around to grin at the sight of Mirajane. "Hey, Mira. It was good, but the master is going to get pissed at the destruction these guys made." The writer of Fairy Tail thrust her thumb back in the direction of cowering Natsu and Gray.

Letting a slight laugh slip between her pink lips, Mirajane replied, "Of course. A job isn't a job until something gets blown up."

"So, what are you up to? Kinana is running the bar today, so you have the day off. Right?" Lucy wondered in response.

Mirajane nodded. Her ivory hair shifted about her face before she took a seat next to the other mages. "Yup! I'm trying to pick the guys to go to Crocus today. You know that we're all leaving soon. Right?" The pageant in Crocus was in two days. After speaking with Makarov, the two of them had decided to leave out today with their victims and models in tow.

Lucy's mouth formed a perfect O and she reached back to her keys. "I talked to Loki like you asked me to. He said that he would…" The sound of the guild doors opening up had Lucy's words fading out. Blue eyes took in the sight of the most ramshackle group to ever walk through the doors of Fairy Tail together.

Of all the people that could have formed a group together, the last people that Mirajane ever expected to be hanging around each other was Bickslow, Lisanna, Elfman, and… Prince… Urian…

Bickslow had his arm wrapped around Urian's shoulders. He was snickering something at the obviously annoyed mage. Lisanna walked quietly on Urian's left side, and Elfman stood at the back of the group like a massive sentry.

The very fact that Urian was walking into the Fairy Tail guild was a feat in itself. He was supposed to be on the search for his father, Loki. He and Mirajane had discussed it, and she'd been the one to give him ideas on how to find leads to the god. Also, he was avoiding his cousin.

Mirajane could tell that much by the way that Urian's gaze immediately landed on the spot where the Raijinshuu and Laxus normally sat. When he didn't see a six foot tall brunette with her head stuck inside of a comic book, the male visibly relaxed. Well, he relaxed until he caught sight of Mirajane.

She could see the very way his muscles bunched up beneath his grey vest, and when Lisanna led Urian towards Mira, he looked to be digging his heels into the wood floor. Had Lisanna offered him to join the modeling?

"Mira, look who I found!" Lisanna chimed, drawing every female's attention to the sexy, black headed male in the room.

Cana threw her keg down to stare with wide eyes. Her lips seemed to be stammering something about Urian being a traitor. Even though Evergreen was eat up in Elfman, she couldn't help but admire the man every woman sighed at. Some newbies to the guild even squeaked before hustling into a corner to talk about the "Untamable Bachelor".

Mirajane's eyes took in the sight of Urian. From Halloween to Christmas, Urian hadn't changed much—not like she was expecting him to. But, there were subtle differences. Urian typically held himself aloof in a seemingly uncaring manner of confidence. This Urian didn't have that nonchalance to him. He looked tense. His strong jaw was held in straight lines, and his lips weren't upturned in a lazy smile. Those crystal blue eyes that could burn like flames looked cold and stern. Something had changed Urian in just a few months. Mira wondered what.

Shoving those thoughts aside, Mirajane eagerly approached Urian and Lisanna. "It's been a while," she greeted to the Ice God Slayer.

Eyes that hadn't been looking anywhere around her suddenly turned her way. In the snap of a finger, Urian's cold façade melted. Warmth flushed his cheekbones, and a goofy smile played at the corner of his lips. Yes, that was the Urian Mirajane was used to.

"H-Hey, Mira," he replied. A hand suddenly shot up to rub against the back of his neck. "Fancy meeting you here. Lisanna said you had the day off."

"I work here, Urian. Of course, I would be here. But, yeah. I took the day off to take all the contenders for the pageant to Crocus. Have you heard about it?" Even though her words were playing with casual conversation, Mirajane was trying to weave a little net for Prince Urian to fall into. If she could secure him, they could get this pageant on the roll. Then, they could even win that prize money. Makarov wanted the money. Mirajane wanted the visit to the hot springs. Mira wouldn't be letting any of the girls take an inch on her. She was going to win that trip.

"Huh? Ya don't say… Ya know, I haven't done much modeling here lately. You wouldn't mind it if I… uh… ya know… played a Fairy Tail mage for y'all again. Would ya?"

Mirajane's eyes visibly sparkled. Yes! She didn't even have to bring it up! Yes! They finally had their five mages. Mira could have whooped in victory. Now, all that she had to do was make sure that the other mages knew they were joining the girls.

Even so, she played it cool. "Hmm. Well, you'll have to talk to Master Makarov about that. I'm not so sure that he'll let you be part time since you don't need our mark to save your cousin this time. You'll have to discuss it with him."

"Uh… Big Sis," Elfman broke in when Bickslow nudged him with his elbow. Judging from Bickslow's massive grin, Elfman lost a bet with the mage. "I wanna be in the competition, too. Competing is a man!" he proclaimed.

"Of course! The more the merrier. Let's go talk to Gramps about getting Uri set up, then we can all go together!" she chimed back with her trademark smile.

"Yeah, and after this, I gotta go tell that demon Marlene that I won't be showing up to work during it… Wench is gunna kill me…"

_Later that Evening…_

Loki beamed down from his position on the dormer of an inn. His plan was working. Hmm. He'd done well to choose Lisanna instead of going directly to Mirajane. Then again, Loki was positive that if he had gone to the barmaid that she would have merely kicked his ass instead of listening to his proposition. Then again, a little familial match making was never a bad thing.

As he watched Urian be led through the streets with Mirajane and Lisanna, he saw the twinkling in the younger ivory headed female's eyes. Apparently, she approved of Big Sister Mira taming the God Prince.

With how incredibly stupid smooth Urian was acting, Loki was interested in what a possible union between the two would come out with. Hmm. Maybe, demon daughters and ice god sons? Or, what if they were ice demon children? A perfect blend of their magic to create the biggest, most bad ass creatures Earthland was to know? It was an interesting idea, and Loki being the horn dog that he was, would know all about bad ass offspring.

One of his sons was Fenrir, the wolf that is supposed to kill Odin according to prophecy. Another one of his sons was named Jormungandr, a sea serpent who was told to be the one to kick Thor's ass into the next version of Asgard. One of his daughters was the queen of the underworld. Her name was Hel. Also, he had a set of boys named Vali and Nari. Vali wound up turning into a wolf and killing Nari, but hey, Loki's kids were total bad asses. He just wasn't the best at raising the slimy brats.

But, that had all changed when little, prince Urian's frantic cries for his elder brother had summoned him to High Lancet. Little Urian had fought so hard to get to his brother Isaac, and Loki had wound up liking the little idiot for it. With his mother burning in the front yard, and his father already burnt to a crisp in the mansions study, Urian Lancet had been orphaned the same day that he was adopted by a god. The little brat owed his God Father something for having actually been a good father for once in his life.

Well, a relatively good father. Yeah, there was that one time when Loki had frozen Urian to the foyer of his castle. And, there was another time when he'd threatened to throw the boy off the roof if he didn't obey him. Oh, there was also that time that Loki got fed up with the teen's playboy actions, and he'd kicked Urian out at the same time that the Lancet army was patrolling. Hey! That last bit had wound up reuniting Urian with his brother Isaac. A brother who'd come back from the dead thanks to the angel that had saved his crispy corpse from the house fire. Loki had paid the kid a favor, and he still hadn't gotten thanks for it. Humph. Insensitive brat. Loki was a good da to that kid, and he hadn't even gotten a thanks. Well, maybe, that was because Loki had ditched the kid, but that wasn't the point here.

Grinning at the old memories, Loki stood up from the roof of the inn. He'd gotten one of his children in Crocus. Thor was fast approaching, and Loki had to make sure the bastard didn't ruin Loki's version of Armageddon by slaughtering all of Loki's children. With that in mind, Loki used his Skinwalking Magic to turn into a common bystander. As soon as the god walked past the Strauss siblings giving Prince Urian a tour of the capital, Loki slammed his body flat into that of his son.

Urian loosed a gust of breath when a fox of a female tripped him up against a fountain. His foot brushed up against the side of the masonry fountain instead of hitting flat cobblestone. Soon enough, Urian went toppling backwards with the girl's arms clamped down tight on him. With the cry of "Kya!" coming from the lass's lips, the two went down with a splash in the middle of Crocus's square.

"Whoa there, missy. You doing alright?" Urian asked as soon as he spat water from his open mouth. He was completely soaked from ass to skull, but he was far from upset at the beautiful lass atop his lap.

Gods, she was a sight. She had long, sable hair the same color of the god Loki's. It shimmered under the lamplight, and the water around it made a halo around her head. Her breasts were large, pressed nice and tight against his body, and the shift she was wearing showed more than it covered. Urian's mind was screaming that she would make a nice fling until he caught sight of a much more beautiful vixen out the corner of his eye.

In a black dress that flowed around her slender ankles, Mirajane's body was more sheathed than the sexy piece atop him, and as soon as he caught sight of the concern in her big, blue eyes Urian wasn't half as interested in the female on his lap. Stupid. Stupid.

Hands wrapped tight around Urian's biceps, and he could feel the lass holding the silver pieces on his arms. She held onto them closely before straddling Urian's hips. "Sorry, boy-o. Some bastard back there went and threw me atop ya handsome self." Her knees were on either side of him. She didn't looked too interested in moving off of him until Urian reached to removed her hands off the bangles Loki had given him long, long ago.

"It's all good, missy. Don't want me to rough him up a bit for ya? I wouldn't be upset to defend a…" His eyes drifted to Mirajane, and he found himself changing his sentence. He altered it to "I wouldn't be upset to defend any woman a man thinks he can push around." What the hell? Urian was supposed to charm the lady, and although that was charming as hell, he couldn't call the lass beautiful because of the white haired barmaid coming to help out.

"Na. Na. I'm fine, handsome. About as fine as the engravings on your bangles. They're a right nice set. Looks like the craftsmanship of the gods if I'd ever seen it." The girl shifted when Mirajane asked if the two of them were okay. An interesting look crossed the female's face as she took Mirajane's offered hand. She looked from Urian then to Mira. After making a decision about something, the girl shook her wet head out. She was hardly wet at all because Urian had taken the fall for her. Well, wasn't he just the perfect gentleman. "Alright then. I'll be seeing you. Thanks for breaking my fall, boy-o."

"W-Wait!" Urian cried out to the girl making a hasty escape. He could still feel her fingers lingering on the armlets his biceps were trapped in, and those words… She knew something about the gods. "Wait! Do you know something about my armlets?" It was too late. The raven haired lass had already disappeared into the crowd as fast as she'd appeared.

"Urian?" Mirajane asked. She tilted her head at him in question then looked up at him through those thick, ebony lashes.

"Huh?" Urian blurted out.

Her hands covered her giggling mouth as she took in his flustered expression. "You're completely drenched. How about we save the rest of the tour for tomorrow? The pageant isn't until the next day."

"But that girl…" His words faded out, and he looked at the mass of crowds in Crocus's flower filled streets. She was long gone. There was no way he was going to find that raven haired girl again tonight. The crowds were thick. Girls were en masse because of the pageant. Brunettes abounded as the dominant hair color. Without anything but those godly blue eyes and that halo of ebony hair, Urian wouldn't be able to find her again.

"Is going to be hard to find if you're thinking of hunting her down," Lisanna chimed in. "Let's get you settled at the inn. Tomorrow, we can see if we can find someone who knows something about Loki or Isaac." Lisanna grabbed onto Urian's calloused hand and Mirajane's silky smooth one. With both of them in tow, the Take Over Mage set her course down the cobblestone streets. She was making her way until a group stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Prince Urian Lancet," a masculine voice called out from the head of the group, and Urian lifted his dripping wet head to catch sight of an unfamiliar face.

"Do I know you?" he wondered to the tall male blocking his group's path. The man was unfamiliar, but that didn't mean he didn't know the man. Although Urian found it more pleasant to have a mass of females around for his personal pleasure, Urian knew a couple of guys. He drank with a few at bars, and he easily made male friends. Well, as long as Urian wasn't accidentally stealing their women.

The bear of a male cracked his knuckles and took a step forward. "Na. You don't know me, but all of us know you." He gestured to a group of males that all looked strangely pissed off. "All of us lost our girls because of you the last time you came to Crocus. We all joined up to kicked your ass outta town."

Two sets of blue eyes widened in Urian's direction, and the male gave a nervous shrug when Mirajane's baby blues locked onto his. Aw. Shit. The last female Urian wanted to know about his man whoring ways was Mirajane Strauss.

"You got the wrong guy, man. How about you let these girls get on by, and we can discuss this like gentlemen?" Urian stepped in front of the girls.

There was some more distinctive knuckle cracking when the larger but shorter male came closer to Urian. "We ain't gunna let you just walk away with two more beautiful women, Prince Womanizer. You see, the boys and I were figuring that you owe us for stealing our girls. Give over the girls, and we'll consider this payment. Taking your supermodel girlfriend and her sister seems like an even trade."

For some uncomfortable reason Urian felt his brow twitch as soon as a male laid hands on Mirajane. As soon as the guy touched her, Urian couldn't stop himself. His fist crash landed into the face of the man in front of him, and then he performed his cousin's signature head-butt on the cranium of the man holding Mirajane.

"How about no?" Urian wondered, cocking an ebony brow. Loki had always said that Urian's bad habits would come back to bite him in the ass someday. Apparently, today was that day.

Holding his broken nose, the lead man squawked, "Screw you, man. Guys, get the bastard!"

"You're that big of a womanizer!" Lisanna screeched when she saw what appeared to be tens of males charging Urian.

"Yo! It ain't like I slept with all of them! Besides, I can't contract STDs or get just anybody pregnant. Sleeping around ain't that bad when there's no ill effects about it," Urian called out at the same time that he thrust a forward jab into a man's gut. "You girls get outta here before you get in the middle of this."

"Is this a common occurrence for you?" Mirajane breathlessly wondered when Urian locked one man around the neck like he'd done this a thousand times.

"If you're going to steal a man's lady, you'd better be prepared to take a punch. Git outta here before you get caught in the crossfire. This is all my fault. Let me take my licks." At just that moment Urian's head whipped back from a punch to the mouth. Blood spurted from gums broken by a silver ring, and Urian spat it on the ground.

With that as their signal, the Strauss sisters locked hands to run off. When the group of raging males tried to give chase, Urian used his ice god slayer magic to throw up a black wall of crystal. "Nuh-uh, boys. If you want to get to my girls, you have to go through me."

"Looks like we'll just have to do that!" a man cried from nowhere to deliver a kick to Urian's jaw. He could hear something pop along with laughter that sounded strangely like Loki's when he forced his legs to stand.

The voice of Loki snickered, "Bad habits, my son."


	7. Prophecy

**Here we are. Finally, I came up with the next chapter. Tell me what you think on it and also about the new format.**

* * *

Prophecy

"You're pathetic," Mirajane mentioned over the top of Urian. In her lap was a bowl of water turned red from Urian's wounds, and in her hand was a moistened rag, also a lovely shade of crimson. Dabbing the rag over a cut on his forehead, Mirajane looked down at Urian.

It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that a handsome face like that was used to get under women's skirts but ten guys? Urian had stolen women from ten guys? Also, what was that mention about not catching STDs or being able to get just _anyone_ pregnant? Mirajane had never heard of such, at least not without magical means. Even so, that didn't mean Urian should be bopping around and snatching people girls up. That was just wrong.

When he flashed a set of pearly white teeth, Mirajane's mind wanted to blank at just the reason she was disappointed in him. She remembered though as soon as he opened that mouth of his. "It's a curse, Mira. Loki had the same issue. Then again, he tended to put his dick in anything that would accept it."

As if to shut him up, Mira tended to a spot on Urian's bottom lip. He'd been cut through the lip and to the gums from a diamond ring. As soon as she pressed herbal medicine gifted to her from his cousin, he loosed a curse from his full lips. "And, why do I feel like that's a big fat excuse. Urian, there's no reason to steal other men's women. It's distasteful."

"And, there's no reason for you to be thinking I'm lying! I'm telling you the truth, Mira!" He lifted himself up to protest, but a sharp pain was obvious across his face. He fell right back down where he'd come from.

Smiling, Mirajane adjusted the pillows behind him. Urian needed to be in peak physical condition if she wanted to win this guild pageant. Fairy Tail may have won the Games, but that didn't mean some people weren't still trying to run their name through the dirt. Mira wanted to prove that Fairy Tail was more than just powerful. They were also beautiful.

"Of course, Urian," she stated, sarcasm slipping from between her pink glossed lips.

"You think I'm lying, Mirajane, but I ain't. Each child of Loki has a curse. I just happened to be cursed with unimaginable sex appeal." He cocked a brow then leaned up. The determination on his face said that he was tempted to use some of that sex appeal on her, but as soon as he got close, his face turned scarlet. He apparently felt that flush of crimson because he hissed out a curse. "Damn it, Mira. It works on everybody but you, and that pisses me the hell off."

Her lips pursed at the same time that she tilted her head. The bangs she kept tied up on her head flopped askew, and she observed Urian carefully. "What do you mean?"

Looking particularly grumpy and not a little bit like a wet cat, Urian glared off towards the extra bed in the room. "I don't know what it is, but I lose my charm with you. Say shit that I shouldn't say and—" Urian's dark brows flew up as if he hadn't meant to say the words pulled from his mouth.

_Does Urian like me? _slipped inside of Mirajane's head until Elfman and Lisanna opened up the bedroom door. At the simple sight of Mira cleaning Urian's wounds, the other female Strauss lit up with a huge smile. Elfman didn't pay the affection any mind. He was too busy throwing himself down on the spare bed and staring Urian dead in the eyes.

There was an unheard conversation going on between each man as Lisanna and Mira attempted to eavesdrop. Sadly, it was merely a mental communication covered in Guy Code. The girls couldn't decipher it, which was highly upsetting.

"It's getting late, Mira. Are you coming to bed?" Lisanna wondered.

"Hmm? Oh! Yeah." Mirajane leaned over to pull a wet cloth off of Urian's face. She would have thought he was blushing at her nearness had he not been so beat up. Tapping her forefinger against the tip of his straight nose, Mira stated, "Sleep well and stop chasing women. You won't win the pageant with that black eye of yours."

He couldn't seem to help himself when a grin spread across his beat up face. "Come on, Mira. Face like this will heal in a couple of hours. I'm a god slayer. We can't be held down from injuries for too long." When Mirajane opened her mouth to argue, Urian pulled the blanket off his body.

Amazingly, Urian was right. One of the thugs had brought a knife with them, stabbing Urian in the side. What had been a deep gash Mira had thought would surely need stiches was now nothing but a thin, red line.

"Then, why doesn't the rest of you heal so fast?"

"Minor injuries. My heightened immune system heals deep tissue and major wounds then takes time getting rid of the easy stuff."

"Similar to how my demon takes care of me?" she wondered.

Her answer was a short nod. Once more, her lips were opening to say something, but when a streak of lightning slammed not too far from the capital, Urian's entire body tensed. Those glacial blue eyes narrowed as he stared the lightning down. There was something hidden in that determined expression, something that Mirajane couldn't quite pin down.

When Lisanna grabbed Mira by the wrist, she was given no time to question it. Strangely though, Lisanna was also eyeing the bolt of electricity with hostility. What was going on that Mira didn't know about?

"Find anything out about Isaac or Loki?" Urian wondered as soon as the girls shut the door behind them.

Shaking his spiky, white head, Elfman replied, "Not a thing on Loki, but I did hear that Mermaid Heel has your brother. Apparently, Kagura spoke with Mirajane earlier yesterday. That's also why Adamine is in Lancet. Mirajane told Lisanna, and Lisanna told me. He's definitely got amnesia according to them."

Hands reached up to Urian's face, and he ran the calloused palms down his face. Of course. Everything just had to play out right in the prophecy. The king was to succumb to some dark fate, forget why he wore the mask that sealed in his darkness, and then he was to reveal his eye to the world. His Evil Eye.

But, Urian's prophecy was right there with his. He was the god that ruled the angel, the one who could seal the mask back to its rightful place. If Urian got to Isaac in time, they could fix this. It wasn't that simple, though. The very fact that Loki was in Crocus explained that much. Urian needed to get to both of them.

"Do you know where Mermaid Heel is?" Urian asked, urgency bubbling in his usually chill body. He needed some liquor about as bad as his brother did. Though Isaac imbibed with blood laced whiskey to commune with his inner demons, Urian could just use something to get himself wasted on.

Once more, Elfman shook his head. "Not a clue. I would assume that they were still at their guild, but they're also taking part in the pageant. They'll definitely be here tomorrow."

Another bolt of lightning struck, and Urian threw his head in the direction of it. Naturally, his lips pulled back to reveal his teeth. The snarl he directed towards Thor's approach was beastly.

"Ever wonder why I wear these bands, Elfman?" Urian asked as soon as the lightning withered away.

"Because you're a man who understands how to make jewelry masculine?" Elfman wondered, not understanding where Urian was heading in the slightest.

Letting a grin crack, Urian turned back towards Elfman. "While that is one of the reasons, there's a more important one. They're a part of my legacy. I can't take the bands off, and they grow according to my body. My blood runs inside of these bands, and it's my blood that can locate each one of Loki's children. With all of these prophecies foretelling the End of Days, I'm assuming that Thor is going to want to slay Loki's children. Fenrir is supposed to eat the earth, and Jormungandr is to battle Thor. The god is to die by my big brother's venomous bite."

"Your point?"

"My point is that each time that damned lightning strikes closer to Crocus Thor is one step closer to killing my elder brothers and sister. He's going to steal my blood, and use my corpse like a map to take each one of them out. That's my legacy, to rescue my blood brother then be murdered by a lightning bastard so he can murder the rest of my family. When one Armageddon starts, a series of them does. Adamine's prophecy was the beginning." As if to prove Urian's point, a shaft of white lightning stabbed into the earth. It was so powerful it shook the room around them, causing the lacrima to flicker off and on.

"Then, what are we going to do about it? Fight a god?"

"That's precisely what we're going to have to do, but we're going to have to do it quietly. You can tell this to Lisanna, but keep the information away from Mirajane. The last thing I want is to drag her into my problems like Adamine did Bickslow. Us Lancet Slayers are a screwed up bunch, Elfman. You would have been better off not knowing us."

Urian stepped from the bed. Lightning struck once more to drown his color in nothing but a dark silhouette. He placed his palm flat against the coolness of the window.

By the looks of things, Urian was about to meet up with his dear old dad, but as per some unknown code, Loki wasn't going to let it happen under sensible circumstances.

Bah! Curse that Loki and his never ending games. Urian had been searching for the bastard for half a year now. Dead end after dead end, Urian had chased his arrogant father. Now, he knew how annoyed, disappointed, and distraught Adamine must have felt before realizing her mother was sealed inside of her lacrima jewelry.

Urian's hands fell from his face to grip the wood around the opened window. The white trim was dented by his fingernails as Urian stared the lightning down.

He'd always known that one day fate would come to ruin his lazy life of self-absorbed luxury, but he just hadn't realized that prophecies were real until Adamine. The Lancet Playboy who was given everything and worked for nothing had immediately flipped over a leaf to go hunt his father, hoping to stop Armageddon before Thor arrived.

And, that was the same reason Thor was here in the first place.

They were all trying to stop the End of Days, but only one of them would succeed. What was Urian to a god? Could he really banish Thor back to Asgard and live his life the way a horny twenty-five year old should?

Secretly, Urian craved a single woman, _the _woman, in his bed. He wanted nasty, drooling little Uri spawn to cling to his legs. He wanted to come home from work then lose himself in the luxury of his woman's perfect form. He wanted to learn how to cook just so he could spoil his lady with stuff. He could give her servants, butlers, maids and a castle.

And the more Urian thought of _her_, the more Urian thought of Mira.

Cursing himself, Urian pulled his leg up towards the window.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Elfman called, lifting his frame up from the bed.

Urian glanced over to where Elf had been lazing and turning on a game system in the room. Yeah. He had to protect people. He didn't want them fighting every day of their life, and that was exactly what would happen if Thor tried to start up another Armageddon while Isaac's was going on.

People needed to chill and play video games. They didn't need to suffer for doing no wrong.

All these religions only desired to end what they had created, and if Urian could push that foretelling back just a couple more centuries, then he'd risk his throat to do it.

That meant, beating Thor to the Endgame and finding Loki.

"I'm gonna go see if I can't find my old man. Hang back and look over your sisters. Got me?" Urian settled his body in the window and turned back towards Elf.

The man was giving him a solemn stare like he knew the intensity of the situation. Amazing how the people of Fiore stuck up for each other even when they had no clue what was really going on. If only Urian's countrymen in Lancet could have such sincerity.

"Got ya, man. If you need help, you know where to find me."

"Aye!" Urian called out, leaping from the window and onto the roof.

* * *

"Loki!" a massive voice bellowed underneath the catacombs that ran beneath Crocus.

Still in his female form, Loki stretched himself out on a throne he'd found. It was made of bone. How thrifty! Examining a skull in his grasp, Loki explained, "Dear fellow god, you don't have to yell. I'm sitting right here. Oh! And, look at this specimen's structure. So hard to find humans with a set of bones strong enough to make a throne."

"I have no time for your games, Loki the Trickster. Fenrir has broken free of his cell. The worshippers of your daughter, Hel, are gathering, and Jormungandr has disappeared without a trace. Pray tell me, Loki, that you aren't trying to free yourself and enter Asgard without explicit permission from my father."

After placing a kiss to the forehead of the skull in his grasp, Loki let the bone fall from his hands. It rolled off of his red painted fingertips then to his feet. "Oh, Thor, don't tell me that you're still butthurt about the premonition that my son is going to go _nom nom_ on your darling father."

A hammerstrike signaled Thor's impatience, but Loki only let out a slow sigh. Snapping his fingers, he shifted from the curvy woman and to his typical form.

Now that Loki looks presentable, Thor took a step towards him. "You know why I'm here to see you, Loki. The boy. Where is he?"

"Which boy, Thor? I'm sorry, but you'll have to be more specific. I have bred bastards aplenty, making sure the Midgardian world is full of my handsome visage."

"The one you chose of your own free will, Loki. Your games grow tiresome. Tell me where he is, else I find him on my own. I know Odin cursed the boy with the secret of your spawn's whereabouts."

Stretching out lazily on his throne of bones, Loki sighed to the ceiling. "And, just why do you think I would go out of my way to please your lightning fried arse? You were one of the bastards who wanted me thrown out of Asgard. You were the one who suggested binding my damned powers! I'm as useless as a human mage because of you."

Loki's voice held to note of rage. As a matter of fact, he sounded bored with their entire conversation. It was as if his mind had checked out, and Thor was left with only the black headed and blue eyed trickster's corpse.

"And, of the Angelic Prophecy? I heard Sirenia and Umbrianna have come from their pantheon to watch over Midgard. How long until the other pantheons decide they want in on Armageddon? We should stop if before your foolish children can start it!" Thor thundered.

_Ha! Thundered. The god of lightning and thunder thundered. Oh, Loki you are a punny man_, the god thought to himself with only one ear listening in on his former comrade, current traitorous bastard.

"We play with the humans. They are our pets, Thor. Angels took Isaac, the Aesir took Urian, and the Fiorla pantheon play with lovely Adamine. We entertain ourselves with our chosen ones. Don't ruin this for me just when I've started my fun," Loki complained.

"Your fun will destroy Midgard!" Thor snarled back, causing lightning to strike. By the glower Loki was getting from the god, he could only imagine what Mjolnir was directing towards him.

Sticking his tongue out at the both of them, Loki responded, "I'm not so foolish to wipe out Midgard and destroy the Bifrost of Yggdrasil. Besides, how could I visit my darling children without the bridge intact?"

"Your darling children are the reason Midgard will be destroyed, damn you!"

Thor took a threatening step. He was seething tension and rage, but Loki knew he was here to wipe out his children after the bastard used Loki's son like a map of blood. Loki wouldn't have it. Not when stopping the Angelic Prophecy could get him brownie points with the great and obnoxious Woden or Odin or whatever the humans spelt it as.

Loki was about to open his mouth and speak until a decrease in temperature caused him to curse inside his head. Urian. The boy always did have bad timing.

"My darling children are what will stop the prophecy, Thor. Sit back, relax, and have a beer." Conjuring such an item, Loki poured a wooden tankard into a pint mug he'd summoned. "Though, I'm not one for pouring drinks for men, especially those of the arrogant and lightning charged variety, I think you will find my plan for the Angelic Pantheon to be quite the good one."

He offered up the booze.

It was obvious in Thor's eyes just where he wanted that pint to get shove up in Loki's body, but true to the man's nature, he accepted the offering.

He lifted the drink to his nose and after deciding he could smell no poison, he lifted it to his lips. Though Thor's red beard didn't pull far enough from his upper lip for him to guzzle the liquid like normal, the man did take a small sip. He washed it around and around in his mouth to taste any poison. After that was deemed acceptable, he downed it like normal. _Good man._

Taking up his own pint, Loki pulled liquid to his lips, but he had something Thor didn't. That something was a special herb tucked under his tongue. When the ale touched the herb, the tasteless and scentless poison was purified.

They were drinking like they used to when Thor questioned, "Then, you will tell me of you plans. Too many prophecies are apt to awaken. Fenrir and Odin. Me and Jormungandr. Then, there is Hel. When the Queen of Hel steps from her underground queendom, nothing can go well."

The temperature in the catacombs was gradually lowering. When Loki had taken in Urian, the two had shared blood. He'd sliced his palm then that of his adopted son's. They had exchanged blood so that they could always keep a bead on each other. With every degree the catacombs got colder, Thor had no idea that the boy he sought was nearing them. Good thing that blood pact only went to Loki and Urian.

Hoping that Thor's slow acting poison would take effect before the boy showed his face, Loki replied, "Jormungandr is a child who not even I can find at the moment, astonishing given that he's so large he wraps around the entire earth, but it is the truth. As for Hel and Fenrir… Hel is sealed within the body of some foreign female Midgardian named Trace Corix, and Fenrir was released from his prison by a young girl named… Oh, dear… What was it… I remember some of it. It started with an N I think. Yes, an N, but…"

"You're stalling."

"Not stalling, dear friend. Trying to remember. Centuries of living has made it hard for me to recall every detail. Sometimes, I fear that I will no longer be able to tell past memories from present events. Tragic. Is it not?"

"Not half as tragic as Midgard being overthrown by a darkness controlling Angel and her pet beast. King Isaac has amnesia, something _you _should have kept from happening given your playtime in this realm," Thor scolded.

Loki waved him away. "You sound like an old woman, and besides, you know how pissy others get when we Aesir interfere within other pantheons." Loki took a long sip just when the temperature dropped to a threatening degree.

Taking Loki's social que, Thor, too, took a long drink of his ale. With that deep a draw, the god would surely be knocked out.

Sure enough, after Loki pulled his frothy pint away, Thor mentioned, "What kind of ale is that? I'm already feeling drunkenness." His speech was slurred. His eyes were going heavy lidded. Before Thor could open his mouth to ask another thing, he fell over against the second throne of bones Loki had made since holing up in this underground cave system.

"Well, that didn't take as long as I'd expected," Loki commented, rising from his throne when the coldness turned to footsteps. He stepped over towards Thor then nudged the god with the toe of his boot. Not even a groan sounded from the beast of a man, god. "Jolly cooperation," Loki snickered. When Urian's shadow crossed into the god's line of sight, Loki kicked Thor off into a pile of bones like a child hiding something under a couch.

Once he was sure his skeleton was hidden in the… other skeletons, Loki eagerly made his way towards Urian. Skin kissed by the sun's rays and dark hair jutting out in a messy but fashionable style, Urian looked to be just the same handsome male as Loki had left him. Ah, the fond memories of kicking his smart mouthed brat of a son out of the house for the army to find him. There was nothing more intimate between a father and son.

Loki was coming in for a hug until Urian waylaid him with a bone crushing fist—encased in ice. Oh, nice touch.

"Good to see your swinging arm is still functioning properly," Loki laughed, punching himself in the other side of the face to knock his jaw back into place. Once he was fixed, he threw his knee without warning into Urian's gut. "But, you really should learn to respect your elders."

Spit flung from Urian's lips as the boy hunched over, looking for the air Loki had knocked out of him. "Ten years," Urian wheezed.

"Ten years of what?"

"Since you kicked me out, sent me to live with royalty."

"Gracious, child. You make it sound like a chore. Living with royalty. Life must be so hard."

"Royalty that hated me on sight!" Urian added, straightening his back to stand tall and proud as Loki had trained him to. Ah, such youth and vitality. He might as well been a blood born son.

Checking his nails, Loki commented, "So what, you were suspected of being possessed by a demon because of your magic. Not like I haven't been put through worse. Try being held captive with a creature's acidic venom dripping down your body as your wife frantically tries to gather the bone disintegrating filth in a cup. Then, we'll talk."

"You could have warned me of what they would do to me!"

"Slayer magic can't be extracted the same as normal magic. Especially not mine."

"Your arrogance hasn't changed."

"Neither has yours."

"I hate you."

"Feeling's mutual."

Urian's lips curled, and he reached out his hand. Smiling on his own, Loki repeated the gesture. They locked their hands before bringing their bodies together. One hand wrapped around the body of his son. Urian slapped his palm against Loki's back.

"Bastard," Loki commented into his son's hair.

"You were the one who chose me, arrogant prick."

"And, a poor choice indeed."


	8. Explain

**Notice! If you get confused at any point in this story, I strongly suggest you go and read the story Demon Within. It's on my page if you need assistance looking for it. The reason I say that is because Modeling under Snow and Demon Within happen at the same time. Both stories are vastly different, but the only way to get the full understanding is to read each one as the chapters come out. Now, I have to go work on Demon Within. Ta! Ta!**

* * *

Explain

"So, to what devious god or giant do I get to thank for the curse of your presence in my new clubhouse?" Loki asked, stretching his arms out wide and showing off the many skeletons decorating the interior walls of the catacombs. He strolled with a nonchalant gait towards a throne of skulls then plopped down atop it.

The god was in human clothing, women's clothing to be exact. He had on cherry red lipstick, and his eyes were decorated in sweeping lengths of kohled black eyeliner. A bustier top made of leather was suctioned onto his broad chest, and a pair of leather skinny jeans showed more around the god's crotch than Urian had any interest in seeing. When he hiked one leg over his thigh, Loki showed Urian a pair of black, stiletto boots most women couldn't even think to walk in, yet the god had more grace than any woman when he made his way to his throne.

Urian paid little attention to Loki's state of dress. The god was mischievous one. There was no telling just what kind of man or woman Loki had been wanting to screw with when he'd been shifted into the body to fit those clothes. Besides, this wasn't the first time Urian had caught the god crossdressing. Loki's shifting habits couldn't be contained.

"No god this time," Urian explained as he took a stone chair for his perch instead of another throne of skulls. "My brother, Loki. What do you know of him?"

Checking his red painted fingernails, Loki took a moment to think before stating, "Well, he's twenty-seven years old. His hobbies are trying to keep you in line, cooking, and recently, drinking the blood of virgins. King Isaac likes long walks on the beach and—"

"How long has he gone without drinking from his flask?" Urian growled. Surely, Loki had been joking about the Blood of Virgins thing. Just as well as Urian knew it, Loki also understood the curse of King Isaac. Back in the mansion fire, each brother had been saved. Loki had rescued Urian from the inferno, and Isaac had been taken in by an angel.

While Urian had been taking the beatings of icicles and frost bite, Isaac's savior had a different kind of agenda. The angel needed a catalyst, a way to seal off the Ultimate Evil of the Angelic Pantheon. Thus, she sealed the demon within Isaac. The demon had been placed from the Eye of the Angel and into Isaac, and there were only two seals that needed to be broken in order to release that evil. One, Isaac needed to drink the blood of an angel, and two, the seal on his mask would need to be released. If his Evil Eye ever met the light, infinite darkness would swallow the earth, and the demon sealed within Isaac would devour his consciousness, using Isaac as a host to create Hell on Earth.

That was where Urian's prophecy came in. He was his Brother's Keeper, and while their relationship typically consisted of Isaac saving Urian's ass, their roles would get reversed. The only issue was that Urian was ninety-nine point nine percent sure his brother was one hundred percent stronger than he was. Isaac would be able to kick Urian's ass with one hand tied behind his back. That strength plus demonic possession equaled one squished god slayer in Urian's mind.

What they needed was Adamine. She may not have been the foundation of their three human family, but she was a pivotal pillar. She was the family centerpiece. Urian and Isaac had spent years of their lives hunting down that dragon slayer, and when they needed her most, she was off in Lancet.

Adamine knew just as much about Isaac's curse as Urian did. The two of them could surely bring Isaac back from around the bend if he finally did snap. Right?

"I know just as much as you do," Loki mentioned, jerking Urian from his thoughts.

"Then, where is he? Here? In Crocus? You know what could happen if his mask was ever lifted."

"Something about the end of the world does come to mind, but I haven't directly seen Isaac since coming to Crocus. Is he here? Is he there? I have no clue. Do I look like a clairvoyant, boy?"

Go figure Loki wasn't useful for anything. He probably had some kind of agenda that Urian was to fill out. Could that agenda have something to do with Thor's appearance? Urian's mouth opened up to ask that question when a groan filled the air. Was Loki hiding something? Urian didn't get a chance to ask before Loki hopped up from his throne.

Placing a hand on Urian's vest, he hefted the boy up from his seat. "Well, this meeting was grand and loving. It's always nice to see you, Urian, but you really must be off. The _Angel of Death_ series comes on in about twenty minutes, and I need to make popcorn. Maybe, I'll order a pizza. Not sure if they deliver to catacombs, so I'll probably have to pick it up myself," Loki explained. He was walking Urian out the door like he had something to hide. Knowing Loki, it was something important. When Urian's mouth opened to complain, Loki cut him off. "Now, if you need to find your brother _that _badly, I suggest you find a little woman named Kagura Mikazuchi. Cute girl. Nice figure, dark purple hair. She's got a crush on your brother, so I recommend not trying to seduce your way into her ranks."

Loki's hand thrust Urian out of the heart of the catacombs, and the god slammed a wrought iron fence in his son's face. "Loki!" Urian snarled, wrapping his hands around the iron. "Damn it, Loki! I finally found you, and you're already shoving me off. What the hell are you planning now?"

"Planning!" Loki gasped. He spun on his heel and flashed Urian a look of absolute betrayal. "Why, Urian! I can't believe you would accuse me of such a thing. Me? The God of _Mischief _plotting something? Why I never!"

"You're a pathetic excuse for a god and an even worse excuse as a father. You know that. Don't you, Loki?" Urian growled. There was too much at stake for Loki to be playing games right now. What in Hel did the bastard think he was gaining by ignoring Urian right now? Armageddon would begin and set off a chain reaction of the various Ends of the World. If the bastard truly wanted to get back into Asgard, then why the Hel wasn't he helping?

"Take it up with administration," Loki snarked back, tossing his middle finger towards the sky in reference to the heavens above. He shapeshifted into the form of a wolf before flopping on his belly amidst the bones. The god's black furred tail flopped side to side as he happily gnawed on the bones of some currently degraded skeleton.

"Damn you, Loki!" Urian snapped back. The sides of his fists lashed out against the wrought iron railings, but ice creeped up to defend it. Though Loki taught Urian God Slayer magic, Urian knew he couldn't break that ice. The magic of the teacher would always remain superior to that of the student. It was a curse to the student and a blessing to the teacher.

Even as Urian punched the iron gate, the god didn't budge. In his wolf form he looked to have drug out the leg of a still clothed skeleton. Thanks to the darkness in the catacombs, Urian couldn't see just what Loki was gnawing on, but he couldn't have cared less. That bastard should have been more useful, and Urian desperately needed to punch something because of his father's uselessness. His arm reared back far at the same time footsteps entered the hallway of the catacombs. Good. Something for Urian to beat since he couldn't get to Loki.

"So, I take it you're looking for your brother," a feminine voice commented.

Jerking his head back, Urian turned towards the voice. His teeth clenched at the sight of Kagura Mikazuchi not because he was disappointed to see her but because he realized something. "I hate you, Loki," Urian growled when the wolf's maw flashed its fangs. Loki's grin was purely malicious.

* * *

It wasn't like Urian didn't want to see his older brother. It was more along the lines that he was nervous about seeing his older brother. Isaac without his mask wasn't Isaac at all. The brother that Urian knew was a selfless and quiet man. Without the mask, Isaac was an entirely different person.

While he was stern and used parties to get laws changed and alliances formed, Isaac only had two places that he actually liked to be. Those places were the kitchen and the training grounds. Isaac led a simple existence of training and meditation. Thanks to the demon inside of him, Isaac wasn't allowed to get too drunk or wild. He had to keep himself calm at all times to prevent any slips from the beast sealed within him.

Also, he had to drink blood to keep the demon from starving. It wasn't because he wanted the demon to live or because he'd developed a taste for blood. It was because of the simple fact that if the demon inside of him died, Isaac went with it. The angel had tied their life forces together, and the brothers had spent all their lives trying to find a way to break those forces. There were no ways to do it without releasing the demon.

That was why he kept the flask. It was the only way to keep both of them alive.

Running a hand through Urian's black hair, the mage watched Kagura Mikazuchi walk—no, march—through the city streets. She looked like the perfect toy soldier when she walked. There was no gentle sway of her hips. She didn't flip her hair against the wind, and she most definitely didn't attract nearby males. As a matter of fact, Urian decided when she stomped flat through a couple of guys hitting on a girl, she scared them. They leaped back like she'd held a torch under their balls. Oh, yeah. Go figure Isaac would have found a protector with a slight butch streak.

Even so, Kagura was an attractive lady. Her long, dark hair looked like strands of velvet ready to be enveloped in a man's fist. Her thighs weren't skinny like that strange trend going on right now. She also had this air of confidence about her. She didn't hold herself like a woman who bent to the wills of man. She held herself like a proud woman who took every step necessary to make sure she was taken seriously. While Urian liked his women a little bit on the arrogant side, he also liked them to be more biddable than Kagura. Not enough to make a woman a limp noodle but just enough to where she did the cooking and the cleaning. Urian didn't know how to do either. That was maid's work.

No matter, she was taking care of Isaac, and Urian currently couldn't think of a better type woman to be looking after his amnesiac brother. Still, Loki had said she was interested in Isaac. Then again, Loki was also a bloody liar that needed to take a visit to Helheim and see his daughter. Urian knew better than to believe everything that trickster told him.

It still burned that the only reason he'd even been able to meet the bastard was because Loki knew Kagura was following him. The god was always about five steps ahead of him. He was either the most insightful freak Urian knew, or he had spies. With the amount of Loki lovers in the world of Midgard, Urian would have to say Loki was insightful.

The gods neither loved nor hated him. Humans found him an enigma. Giants thought he was a pest half of the time. The God of Mischief was never up to any good aside from his own.

Urian would know. The bastard had kicked him out of the house, so Urian could be found by the Lancet military.

For years Urian had thought he'd been thrown out because he'd pissed off the god. In reality, Loki had known the army was on patrol. He wanted Urian to reclaim his potential rights to the throne. The abandonment had been a favor, but Urian sure didn't feel like it was the better option.

If Urian could have chosen to, he would have cast off his royal heritage to go live a simple life. He could have done some work as a mercenary thanks to his god slaying. He could have become a merchant thanks to his knack for knowing how to make money. The possibilities were endless. Urian hadn't just been training to become his brother's savior. He'd been learning in the library of a god.

Urian could write plays, poetry, and musicals. Odin had gifted him with a gilded tongue in more ways than one. He was confident in the ways of charisma, and while it wasn't his magic, it was rather close to it. He would have been fine without his royal lineage, but for some reason, Loki cast him back into that world of formal clothing and stiff royal encounters.

Urian had once sworn never again to wear a cravat or dance with rigid movements, but Loki had thrown him back into the manor of Lancet. He'd been dancing that monkey rhythm ever since. Thankfully, with the guilds of Fiore having helped take part in the liberation of the Kingdom Lancet, Urian was once more freed from the formalities. He didn't have to worry about political marriages or impressing other nobles because he was second in line for the throne. All of it was a part of Loki's plan for him, that plan for Loki to get into Asgard, but Urian had no clue why his royalty or how his royalty played a part in that.

_Infuriating bastard_, Urian thought to himself as Kagura walked him through the last of the throngs and towards their inn. It was called Emerald Ivy, and Urian quickly understood why when they got to the front door.

Sure enough, ivy covered the wrought iron gates. It was a carved embellishment on the front door, and when they got inside, ivy plants were growing on the interior walls. "Very Garden of Eden," Urian absently commented.

"It was affordable," Kagura mentioned. Her voice held no love for Urian. Wow. Everyone loved him. Well, minus guys and lesbians. There was also that run in with a bisexual when Urian mistook a transgender for a birth born woman. Alright then. Maybe, not everyone loved him, but most people did.

Even so, he shrugged it off and walked with her up the stairway. The design was highly influenced by the Art Nouveau Movement in architecture. Everything was in fluid lines. Hand crafted, wood chairs lined the hall, and the wallpaper was reminiscent of more vines. Suggestive paintings were hung on the walls in the form of elegant, artistic nudes. Even the rug beneath their feet was handwoven.

Urian's eyes were entranced by the mystical feel of the architecture around him until he heard a tormented wail shred through the air. Hazel eyes jerked to meet ice blue ones. "Isaac!" they snapped in unison.

A key appeared in Kagura's hands, but it went flying when a door burst open. Green dreadlocks filled the doorway as a woman nearly slammed into Kagura. Her heels came to a sliding stop before damage could be done. "Kagura!" the unfamiliar woman cried, "Something's wrong with Isaac!"

Without a word Kagura charged past the jumpsuit sporting mage then hustled deeper into the hotel room. Urian wasn't far off behind her. He completely brutalized his gentleman's code and headed straight into a women's quarters without permission. His hand met the doorknob before Kagura's could. When she tried to push him out of the way, Urian growled, "Stay here!"

There was no telling what could be behind that door. If Isaac's mask was off, his inner beast could be at the fore. If he was starving for blood, the beast could be prowling for a meal. Urian was going to have to do something he hadn't done in a long time.

Not giving Kagura a chance to try and break his defense against the door, Urian threw it open, slammed it closed, and locked it. Heaving and thrashing came from the other side of the door, but Urian paid little attention to it. He was more distracted by the sight of his brother tied to a bed.

Isaac's mouth was opened wide. An unholy roar was pouring from it. Even as he thrashed, a spider web kept his wrists and ankles tied in place. His back bowed from some unknown agony. Unimaginable torment was keeping Isaac's body wrenching this way and that way. By the looks of the two girls around him, it had taken some effort to get him tied down.

Claw marks from the one with the feline hairstyle ran down his face. It shredded the front of his black shirt wide. Blood was dripping from open wounds, blood that would need to be replaced.

"The things I do because of you," Urian grumbled, getting both women in the room to turn their heads towards him.

"Urian?" they breathed.

The god slayer didn't even question when and where they'd learned his name. He was famous for being a playboy, a model, and royalty. It was more frightening to find people that didn't know his name.

Ignoring the women, Urian shrugged out of his vest. "How long has he been like this?" Urian asked. He took a step, but the girls tried to stop him.

"You can't go near him! He tried to kill us!"

"Yeah, that's kind of what happens when someone seals a hungry demon inside of you. So, how long has he been like this?" Urian repeated over the screaming, snarling, and foaming sounds of his tormented brother. If they waited much longer, the demon would break those ties.

Gulping, it was the cat girl who explained, "About ten minutes. We thought he was having a nightmare, but when someone came in to check on him, he tried to bite her. What the hell is going on, Urian?"

"Umbrianna is going on." When he got questioning looks, he chose against answering them. He had no time, and Isaac needed blood. Urian tucked fingers beneath the wrappings Mira had put on his arm. Thanks to his body's regenerative abilities, his blood count should be high enough for him to feed Isaac. Not just any blood could sate the demon. Too much and he could override Isaac's control. Too little and Isaac could be turned into a mindless beast. Urian knew how to balance that fragile line. He'd been his brother's blood donor for years.

Sidestepping the girls, Urian moved towards Isaac's writhing body. He hadn't expected his brother to go so deep into starvation that this happened. It'd only happened once, and the seal fusing his mask to his face had been broken. Isaac had thrown his mask off, nearly releasing his inner demon. Thanks to someone's magic, though, Isaac couldn't knock his mask off this time.

"What do you think you're doing?" the other, larger girl asked.

"My job." Summoning a black dagger made of ice into his hand, Urian made a careful slice down his forearm. He made sure not to hit any vital veins or arteries. He also made sure not to accidentally snatch any tendons or ligaments that could be near his incision.

The scent of blood wafted directly to Isaac's senses, and a single, purple eye zeroed in on the crimson liquid freed from Urian's skin. Yeah. Zac was starved.

"Where would you be without me," he sighed then reached his arm out. He didn't get close enough for his blood crazed and demon possessed brother to touch him. His arm lingered over Isaac's face. Droplets of blood spilled onto the bed sheets, the pillow, and Isaac's face until he got his arm into position.

"He's really a vampire," one girl breathed.

"They make this look a lot sexier in the movies. It's just gross in reality," the cat haired chick mentioned.

While they chattered amongst themselves, Urian's eyes stayed steady on Isaac. His brother was mindlessly straining to get to Urian's wrist. If Urian trusted his brother well enough to not rip his entire hand off with those freakish teeth of his, the God Slayer might have gotten closer, but he wouldn't risk it. Isaac wasn't Isaac right now. He was Destruction, Darkness, and all that wanted to overthrow the world.

In mythology there was always a bad guy. The titans took up their slot amongst the gods of the Greek pantheon. Jormungandr, Fenrir, and Hel had their place in Norse mythology. The Beast, as they liked to call him, was the ultimate evil in the Angelic pantheon, and he just happened to be sealed deep within Urian's brother. Bloodletting was the least Urian could do to keep his brother safe.

A loud crash sounded behind the two chattering women, and Urian knew Kagura was charging into the room without even having to look up. She was striding with an intense pace until she got around the other woman. As soon as she caught sight of a steady stream of blood dripping into Isaac's mouth, her entire face paled. She looked sick, ready to pass out at any moment. Bracing herself on one of the posts of Isaac's bed, she breathed, "What's going on?"

"Bottle feeding," Urian commented. He watched his blood reflect in the moonlight filtering through the sheer curtains. He'd done well with his cut. It was just deep enough for the blood to maintain a steady flow, but it wasn't hurting him too much. Isaac would be contented, likely passing out once he'd drank his fill, but Urian needed blood donors. He wouldn't be able to be a constant supply for Isaac. It would weaken him, and with the way things were going right now, Urian needed all the red and white blood cells he could keep. "So, are you girls just going to stand there staring, or do you want to help the man out?"

"I-er-I," one sputtered out, trying to wake herself from the shock of seeing a human being drinking blood straight from the vein.

"What do I need to do?" Kagura's voice rang. It was clear and strong, just the kind of voice Urian liked to hear when his brother was in danger.

"Before I came here, I had Bickslow do a little scrounging around for me. He snuck into a hospital and got all the equipment needed to draw blood. One of you go find him. I want another one of you to grab me something to wrap this wound in when it stops bleeding. Somebody else, get me Isaac's flask. The rest of you had better get ready to become donors because my brother's going to need more blood than what I'm giving him right now," Urian commanded, his voice colder than it'd ever been. Isaac was in danger. These girls taking care of him were in danger. If they let their tongues slip and wound up saying something about Isaac's blood drinking, it could spell trouble. Thankfully, most people in Fiore didn't believe in vampires, but there were others out there. Any foreigner from Lancet could hear about Isaac's condition and come to take the man out. With Isaac being a current amnesiac, he wouldn't know to protect himself. Isaac was as fragile as a child.

When Kagura appeared with a med kit, Urian finally pulled his bleeding arm away from Isaac's mouth. The snarling and writhing had stopped just a few moments after he'd realized the blood was getting to him. Now, Isaac's eyes were closed. His long, dark lashes laid against flesh growing more colored by the second. The paleness was fading out to give a much healthier color to his skin.

A cotton pad swept across his forearm as Kagura cleaned Urian's skin. She did the usual nurse things of rinsing the wound in rubbing alcohol before wrapping it up in bandages. The Gravity Mage did pretty good on her technique when she finished tying Urian's new wrappings.

"So, who's getting Bickslow? He's in the Honeybone inn," Urian explained. His eyes were looking at the four other women in the room. The cat girl, plump girl, spider chick, and farmer's daughter were all still hanging out. Their eyes were wide. Their skin was pale. Urian was pretty sure all it would take was for Isaac to flinch in sleep for all of them to leap and scream.

Clearing her throat, Kagura stepped beside Isaac's bed. "Araña, you're the one who's been accusing Isaac of being a vampire all this time. You get the Seith Mage." When Spider Girl opened her mouth to say something, Kagura's brows only furrowed. With just that go-to-hell scowl, Araña made herself useful, but Kagura wasn't done yet. When Farmer Johnson's Daughter handed her Isaac's flask, Kagura promptly placed it in Urian's hand. "Now, you have some explaining to do."

Man, did Urian ever have some explaining to do.


	9. History

**Eh, this chapter wound up being a touch shorter than I had intended. Oh well, I've been itching to write, so hopefully, you all will forgive me. I've been doing updates on multiple other stories that are running at the same time. Hopefully, you all like Norse mythology because it's about to get a little more mythological up in here.**

* * *

History

Hours had passed, and still, Urian wasn't back. Even though Elfman had promised to hang around and watch over Mirajane and Lisanna, he was itching to go hunt down Urian. Elfman may not have one hundred percent understood the situation, but he knew people were in danger. Briefly, Lisanna had mentioned that this pageant was important, that things could go horribly wrong if the god Loki wasn't found. For her to talk like some kind of soothsayer instead of playing around… Yeah, something was wrong here—dead wrong.

Switching off the console he'd been barely paying attention to since Urian had left, Elfman looked out the window. The barrage of lightning bolts had settled down only a few short moments ago. Even though Elf wasn't sure whether he could believe it or not, he found himself wondering if Thor was the reason those lightning bolts had struck the earth.

It was a rather farfetched thing, but then again, so were dragons coming out of a time machine. Anything was possible in this world. He probably shouldn't be doubting much at this point in his life. Dragons, magic, and god slayers, they were there. Why wouldn't the actual gods be there? Besides, Urian claimed the shapeshifting trickster god/ice giant Loki was the one who taught him slayer magic. Urian didn't often lie.

Elfman felt ready to pace the floors until a flash of lightning rose from a distant corner of the capital. His head jerked back at the sheer force of the bolt slamming into the earth. It sounded like the strike of a hammer on an anvil. It sounded like a battle cry. It sounded like fury.

Two massive hands covered Elfman's ears until the sound dissipated. The lacrima in the building flickered off and on over and over again until the roar faded away. When Lisanna and Mirajane burst into the guy's bedroom, he put either hand on his sister's shoulders. Something was going on out there. That something was the reason Urian wanted his brother back.

* * *

"Angels," Kagura deadpanned as she stared directly into the glacial blue eyes of Urian Lancet. Her arm was connected to an IV that was drawing her blood into a pouch for Isaac to drink when Urian's blood ran out of Isaac's system. She wasn't the only one in line for blood donation. Already, Risley and Millianna had donated blood. Several pouches of the crimson liquid had been stored inside of a special cooler Bickslow had grabbed when he'd jacked the hospital supplies. Right now, the tall Seith Mage was drawing blood like he was a registered nurse. It probably didn't hurt that his totems essentially stabbed into veins instead of Bickslow having to worry with unsteady hands.

Sighing, Urian adjusted in his own seat. He'd spent the past few hours explaining to Kagura his family lineage. Not all mages from Lancet had it quite like he, his half brother, and his older cousin did. They were prophesized children, but while Urian was a Prince Hidden in Lies, he didn't worry much with his prophecy. Instead, he was busy explaining to Kagura the mythology of Isaac's destined path. Isaac was a Child of Impure Blood.

"Yes, angels. The Lance family was long ago cursed thanks to our family being the founding Normans, normal humans, that settled in the kingdom. Our ancestors killed many men, women, and children that were natives in the land. Thanks to our royal rampage, the pagans, mages, had us cursed by Zeref—or so they believe. The legend goes that the family of Lance was to one day be cursed by three children: One of Impure Blood, a Prince Hidden in Lies, and a Demigoddess of Lione. When my mother cheated on my father the very night of her wedding, she wound up conceiving an illegitimate child. That child is the man unconscious in the room beside us right now." Kagura opened her mouth to say something, but Urian ignored her obvious intent. He continued, "Thanks to my mother's cunning, she had sex with my father on the same night and the nights thereafter. When she finally realized she was pregnant, she knew the child wasn't my father's. Something in her heart told her that the child wasn't a son of Lance. Thanks to her strategy, though, my father was convinced that Isaac was his when my brother was born. He got the birthright and the title since he was the firstborn son. That's what names him as the Child of Impure Blood. It's also what names me the Prince Hidden in Lies. My legitimacy and rights were stolen from me because of the lies of my mother."

"But, how does that connect with the angels and your relationship with Loki?" Kagura broke in, interrupting despite Urian's attempts to keep explaining.

Frowning, he mentioned, "I was just about to get to that. You see, people eventually started to put the pieces together. Isaac's father was a mage, and he often visited Isaac since he took care of my father's horses. People heard him calling Isaac his son, and rumors spread. People will believe any gossip about royalty, but in this case, it was truth. That was when the attempts on our lives started. Normans that were up on their history knew of the curse of the Lance family. We were named after a weapon, and they often said we were the lance that would rip the country in two. Back when Isaac and I were children with no knowledge of these prophecies and histories, we lived and moved from various castles. Our father tried to keep us safe from danger. He and our mother were up in age and having more children would have been likely impossible for them. They wanted to make sure their precious heirs were safe in order to keep the Lance name untarnished. There were only four true people left in the royal Lance bloodline. Those people were me, Adamine's father, my father, and they considered Isaac a member of that bloodline as well. They weren't ready to give up their name to the other royal families quite yet. But, there were some Normans that were ready to see the shift. Gatlin Thorne and his father were some of those Normans. They had their assassins set fire to the castle one winter's day when I was out with my uncle. Isaac and my parents were trapped inside of the inferno with the rest of the servants. When I saw the flames as my carriage wheeled towards the house, I ran off to try and save Isaac. I didn't get there in time. Right when the door grew loose enough for me to move it, one of the overhead beams flew my way. I was sure that I was going to die alongside my brother in that fire, but for some reason Loki showed up. The ice giant froze the entire castle and held the beam that was to crush me with one arm. While I was getting saved by Loki, Isaac was getting rescued by angels, two of them. They called themselves sisters and took Isaac away. It wasn't until years later that I met back up with Isaac again. I'd thought that he'd escaped when Loki froze the flames, but it was the angels that had saved him."

"But, isn't getting saved by angels a good thing?" Araña asked. She was having her blood drawn while Kagura sipped on a juice pouch. Beth was giving them to all the girls that had given blood in order to boost up their blood sugar.

With a shake of his head, Urian disagreed, "Not if they're fallen. The angels that saved my brother are more so demons than anything Zeref has ever created. Thanks to whatever had cursed my family, different pantheons took interests in us. They use us as catalysts for Armageddon. The Aesir chose me. Angels chose Isaac. Fiorla picked Adamine."

"But, why pick you three and not anyone else?"

"I would assume because of what we worship," Urian sighed. He'd asked himself that question over and over again after Loki had welded the twin arm bands on his biceps. The god had explained nothing, but Urian had speculated. "Adamine's father was accused of worshipping pagan gods and selling his soul to them in order to win the battle against the Last Great Rebellion. It's rumored that Firmalione visited him on the battlefield. The Goddess of War and Stone is supposed to wander battlefields and seek out warriors fit to defend her people in the Next Life. As a matter of fact, there's rumor that Adamine isn't a legitimate heir to the throne either. People suspect that she was hatched from a dragon egg. As for my brother and I, our father was a Christian and our mother worshipped the Old Norse Gods of High Lance. She wasn't supposed to. In her vows she promised to change her faith, but she didn't. It's likely the sins of our parents that landed us as the gods' playthings. Probably something about that whole 'Offer me your firstborn' kind of stuff." He could just imagine Loki lurking around a newly wed couple and waiting for their firstborn child. The gods used everything in his odd schemes.

Back when Loki had welded the two armlets onto Urian's biceps, the god had mused, "Thor is going to hate me for this." The god was always involving Urian in secret plots. Urian just wished he understood the importance of finding Loki's children: Fenrir, Jormungandr, and Hel. Why was Thor around when it was the Angelic Pantheon's Time of Reckoning?

The sound of bodies shifting caught Urian's ears. When Kagura changed seats for Beth to be able to reach the IV, she stated, "I already contacted Adamine about Isaac's amnesia. She's sending Winry and Catori from Kindred Spirit to deactivate this Familiar Amnesia spell. Do you have any idea how Isaac could have gotten bespelled?"

"If what had attacked his ship had truly been angelic like Lisanna suggested, then it could have been one of his two mothers that cursed him. From what little Isaac's told me about them, one angel sought redemption to reenter Heaven. The other wanted revenge. It was when the revenge seeker implanted the Beast inside of Isaac that the other one ran off and delivered Isaac back to the kingdom."

"And, the blood drinking?"

"That's a part of the Beast's Curse. 'One to Sate and another to Awaken' is the phrase most often repeated in Isaac's prophecy. When Isaac jumped me for my blood the first time we met back up with each other, it made sense. Human blood sates the beast, but another will wake it up. I have no clue what kind of blood that is though." And, he hoped he'd never find out. Once, Urian had seen his brother without his mask on. Urian had been trying to pull his famished brother away from his neck. In the process the seal on his mask had come loose. Urian had been able to swipe away the mask and reveal the Eye of the Beast. It was like a vacuum had been released. The sunlight had seemed to disappear, as if Fenrir's son Skoll had finally devoured the sun. Then, strange things had happened. What looked like colorful, blue/white liquid had began to ooze from Urian's pores, his nostrils, and his eyes. All of the color had left him and flowed towards Isaac's open mouth. They said that magic was a manifestation of the soul, so to this day, Urian believed the Beast within Isaac had been draining Urian's soul instead of his blood. Thankfully, Urian had frozen Isaac's eyes shut before he could lose any of his soul. The memory of his brother's loss of control was burned deep inside of Urian's mind.

* * *

_Winter snow was deep around the legs of Urian and his elder brother. The two of them were trudging through the knee high powder ever since a casual hunting trip had gone wrong._

_They'd left early in the morning to go hunting together. It made sense. The brothers had only recently been reunited, and hunting had been a way for them to bond, to escape the constant watch of their parents. Neither mother nor father cared for their sons. They were heirs, nothing more, but they were heirs whose births had been prophesied in Pagan legend. As Normans, the idea of having two children born of Mage Blood was potentially catastrophic. They could be stripped of their titles._

_Thankfully, their parents had died before they could realize their greatest fears. Yes, both of their sons were of the blood their parents feared. Isaac was born from an illegitimate union. Urian had accepted the mage blood long hidden in the Lancet family tree. But, where the boys used to go hunting to escape being caught practicing their hidden talents, now they were hunting to reconnect after years separated._

_People had warned them not to go out since they suspected a snowstorm, but Urian had merely laughed, "What's a blizzard to a God Slayer?" He and his brother were powerful people. Isaac controlled darkness. Urian controlled ice. They shouldn't have to fear cold and wet. Should they?_

_Yes._

_While each brother had thought that they'd packed enough rations for a week, they hadn't expected to get trapped outside for three weeks. They were cold. They were hungry. They were dehydrated. Even though snow was all around them, it wasn't the best thing to eat. The temperature of the snow would cool down their insides when it was combined with the below zero temperatures of the air around them. They would freeze from the inside out if they didn't at least melt the snow first._

_Lucky for them, Urian had a black case where he kept his personal items stored. Identification and other documents that would name them should they be found as corpses in the snow had been safely tucked away until Urian had moved them and put snow inside the case. The black color absorbed the sunlight and was doing its job to melt the snow within._

_The two men would have thought they'd come rather prepared had Isaac not needed something other than water to keep himself alive. The flask where he kept his blood cooled was empty. Hunger pangs were stabbing Urian's brother from every angle, and the god slayer didn't have a single clue about how to stop it._

"_How much longer?" Isaac ground out, his voice was changing. It was growing almost demonic in nature._

_Huffing, Urian dug his right foot out of a hole he'd stepped in and heaved himself back onto flatland. "Dunno. A day, a couple hours. With all this snow around us, I can't tell up from down. Are you sure you won't just drink from me?"_

"_No!" Isaac snarled. "You're my brother! You're not food."_

"_So, just because the blood you drink doesn't have a face and body with it, you can pretend you're not drinking straight from a human being?" Urian hissed, annoyed with his brother's stubbornness. He knew why Zac refused to feed from him. He was afraid of losing control and killing him by accident. While Urian thought his brother was multitudes stronger than him, he did know one thing. Urian could freeze Zac's ass to a tree if his brother tried to take him out._

_Stumbling, Isaac's nails dug deep inside of Urian's shoulder. The hunger pangs had caused Zac's body to change. Instead of human nails, Isaac possessed long, ebony talons. Instead of human teeth. Isaac had elongated fangs that projected like retractable claws from behind a slit just against his canines. Still, Isaac placed his fingers in just the right way to keep from drawing blood from the shoulder he was using to steady himself on._

_Once he'd righted himself, he ground out, "Do you drink directly from a cow's udders?"_

"_Na," Urian grunted as he dug himself out of another hole. "But, when I was a babe I did suck the teet of our mother."_

_When Urian turned to face the pained expression of his older brother, he saw Isaac forcing a smile. "You can always make jokes in the shittiest of situations. Can't you?"_

"_All a part of my charm, I'm afraid. Loki was never one to let a moment stay dull."_

"_I believe it. Shame my mothers didn't have such a sense of humor." He broke his sentence to slam his jaw shut. They'd been walking forward amidst flakes of ivory and the white ground beneath them. It was hard to differentiate between flat land and a cliffside until the both of them kicked rocks off the edge. When Urian stumbled over, Isaac sunk his talons into his brother's bicep._

_From beneath the thick jacket Urian wore, blood began to draw forward. As Urian dangled from the edge of the cliff, he could see his brother's nostrils flaring at the scent. Even the purple eye that Isaac had been born with glistened just the slightest bit of blue when he inhaled the scent of Urian's blood._

"_Guess this is the part where I tell you my God Slaying doesn't come with wings?" Urian gritted his teeth and tried to find a hold for his feet. One hand slammed up to lock around the forearm of Isaac._

_Though weakened by blood loss, Isaac didn't let Urian go. The slayer dropped to one knee. Using his other foot, he tried to gain leverage in order to haul his brother up from the cliff. The scent of Urian's blood was still flowing in the air, and his voice was growing guttural as the starved beast within him sniffed out the liquid. The purple of his uncovered eye was growing more blue by the second. "You'd do best to run when I pull you back up," Isaac's contorted voice explained._

"_And, miss the fun of fighting you?" Urian hissed. When he was finally able to toss a leg over, he stumbled into the chest of his brother._

_Isaac caught him, but a grip meant to assist became possessive when Urian's blood was in convenient reach. All of Isaac's senses flared to high alert. His pupils dilated. His ears twitched as if he could hear each blood cell flowing through Urian's veins. When Urian attempted to stand, Isaac's hand shot out to wrap around the God Slayer's throat. Before Urian had a chance to understand what was happening, a dark voice sneered, "You should have listened to your brother."_

_Hastily, Urian attempted to break free of Isaac's grip. Though it may have been his brother's hand holding him in place, that voice was not Isaac's. Those movements were not Isaac's. A quick jerking motion tossed Isaac in the direction of a tree not yet covered by the snow. His body landed with a cruel _thwack _as Urian prepared to freeze his brother according to Plan A. When enough magic had finally centered in the palm of his hand, he was ready to loose his attack, but Isaac wasn't there._

_A shadow twisted around Urian's ankle to drag him deeper into the snow. As soon as both of his legs were submerged, Isaac's upper torso pulled from the shadow. One hand completely covered Urian's face, and the other hand sunk into his shoulder. Jerking Urian's skull off to the side, the beast possessing Isaac revealed Urian's throat._

Pump. Pump. Pump. _The blood in his jugular danced. It was like the movement of someone slamming on a closed door when Isaac's mouth opened up. The sunlight glistened off of those feline tipped fangs, and Isaac's pointed tongue swept across his bottom lip. "I've never tasted God Slayer blood before."_

"_Sorry, Demon Boy, but this bar's closed for the day." Despite the heel of Isaac's palm digging into Urian's eyes, he got his arm free from behind him. His elbow shot backwards into Isaac's stomach. A sharp _whoosh _of air escaped Isaac's lips, but the God Slayer knew his brother would forgive him for it later._

_Wrapping a hand around Isaac's jacket, Urian hauled his body out of the snow. He was a writhing, floundering mess as he tried to escape the pit the beast within his brother had created for him, but with enough grunting and cursing Urian finally pulled through._

_Underneath his grip, Isaac's body writhed. The other slayer thrust his knee into Urian's chest. Saliva and oxygen flung from Urian's lips. He didn't let it stop him. The hand on Isaac gripped tighter instead of releasing. With the summoning of his power, Urian could see his skin paling. Snow seemed attracted to his flesh. Where it landed, it iced over. Blue veins created stark highlights beneath his skin, and when Urian shred his hand downwards, Isaac's clothing froze to his body. "Flash—"_

_His words were cut off. The beast extended the wings long sealed against the fleshy barrier of Isaac's skin. Urian's hand was sealed against Isaac's body when the beast launched both of them into the sky._

_The beast flew with purpose. Sinking black talons into the hand Urian had frozen to his brother's abdomen, it wrenched Urian from his grip. The two of them twisted and writhed in the air. A hand caught a jaw. A leg hit a leg. Limbs created a twisted mass as they created contorted shapes in the air._

_Beneath them deciduous trees stood like upwards pointed swords. Limbs looked ready to stab through flesh were one of them to tumble._

Guess that means I shouldn't fall. _Reaching upwards, Urian secured his grip on Isaac's face. His hands caught hold of something. His mask? But, when Urian tried to climb further against his brother's body, his glacial blue eyes met a pair of sky blue._

"_You shouldn't have done that," the beast's voice purred with a wicked grin._

* * *

How had Urian succeeded in getting Isaac's mask off, the God Slayer didn't know. One time, Princess Adamine had grabbed Isaac by the mask and tried to yank it off by force. She hadn't been able to believe that anyone had marred the face of her adoptive cousin, and she wanted to see the proof. Isaac and Urian had strongly discouraged her from doing it, but Adamine was Adamine. She did what she wanted.

Even Urian hadn't been able to take Isaac's mask off except for that one time. Was it because the beast had been waking up? Again, he had no clue. It was all a big mystery, but someone wanted Isaac's mask off. Urian was here to find out who it was and why. Likely, the culprit was one of the two angels that had raised Isaac after the mansion fire. But, why now? What had set the turn of events right for the angel to be able to pull Isaac's mask from his face, to break that fragile seal?

These were all questions for someone smarter than Urian. Loki would likely know the answers to them all, but the god only met others on his terms. Hunting him down and capturing him wouldn't do any good either because then Loki would just make jokes the whole time. Torture was just something the god mocked.

"If someone doesn't want to give you information badly enough, no amount of torture will get it out of them," Loki had snickered once when Urian had threatened to beat some information out of him.

The god was a trickster, a riddler, and a man who worked for himself. It was amazing that asshole had even accomplished getting married. How Sigyn dealt with the bastard was beyond Urian.

Rising from his seat, Urian turned towards Bickslow. The Seith Mage had been surprisingly quiet throughout all of this explaining. Perhaps, he was rethinking his relationship with Adamine now that he knew just how psychotic this family was? Or, maybe, he was wondering how his little sisters, Winry and Catori, were going to handle breaking an angel's spell.

"I've gotta get going," Urian explained. "Since Loki is here, I'm sure that nothing is going to go right for us." A powerful bolt of lightning struck, and Urian's head tried not to jerk in that direction. So, Thor really was here. Great. This guild pageant couldn't have gotten any worse without him.

Unless, Fenrir, Hel, and Jormungandr decided to show up, too.


	10. Long Day Coming

**Hey! It's been far too long. Glad I was able to update today.**

**Anyway, I just want your opinions on whether or not I should rewrite this story. The context and plot isn't the issue, it's a few scenes and moments that need revising. After I finish this story, I might come back in to give it an edited version. It would be cleaner since what I post on fan fiction is my play writing. It's not my serious, edited, and loved on writing. This stuff is raw, straight from the keyboard mess. It's far from the polished works I deliver in my novels.**

**Oh, well. Just tell me what your thoughts are. Thank you all!**

* * *

Long Day Coming

"Urian," something called out from somewhere. Instead of worrying with it, the God Slayer slipped one slender finger beneath the parchment he was holding. He'd been up all night doing research on the Angelic Pantheon. One day had passed since he'd met with Kagura, and he'd barely slept since that day.

After telling the mage what he knew about the waking prophecy, he'd ditched into the inn, went to sleep, woke up, and ran off to the nearest library. As of now, he was a good three feet deep in stacks of literature, religious documents, and books on mythology. Scrolls, paperbacks, and oversized documents were spread out around him as he did the one thing that he refused to let people know he loved—reading.

His black rimmed glasses sat proudly on his face, and somewhere amidst this wasteland of papers, his contact case had gotten lost. Hours upon hours of reading in the backroom of the Crocus library had strained his eyes, and he'd resorted to eyewear in order to cure his useless eyesight.

Sadly, his last resort was looking like it was in vain. So far, the only information that he'd been able to garner on just which angel was after Isaac had come to everlasting dead ends. He felt like a failure. It was disheartening.

Sighing, Urian tossed another book off to the side and fell back against the papers. Parchment went heavenwards when his frame collapsed against the stacks, but he didn't move. His body had gone rigid from sitting cross legged for hours on end. Urian didn't think that movement was something his body was currently capable of. When a drifting document landed on his face, he let it lie there.

"Urian?" the voice sounded off again, louder this time.

Eyes narrowed, and Urian popped open one eye. As soon as he saw a dainty hand switch on the overhead lights, he slammed his eyes shut.

White light blossomed overhead from LED insets, and while it accomplished its mission of lighting the room, it also stabbed Urian's icy blue eyes. "Unholy fire of Muspelheim," Urian hissed as his pupils contracted to tiny dots in his skull. "Who turned on the lights?"

"Sorry," a female voice stated, slight humor on her tongue. "I didn't believe Lisanna when she told me you were in the library, but it looks like she's right."

Eyes flashed wide when the gears in Urian's mind clicked into place. He knew that voice. Oh, yeah. He was very familiar with that voice. It was Mirajane's voice. Jerking his glasses off before she could see him with them on, Urian flung papers all around his body as he scampered for his contact case.

"I-er-Adamine, I mean. She wanted me to find some documents on the Angelic Pantheon that took Isaac when we were kids. I wasn't reading," he fumbled. Hands locked tight onto his case, and he unscrewed the lid just as Mirajane entered from around the stacks of books surrounding him.

With just one look at her in her introduction outfit, the finger pressing his contact to his right eye fell. The tiny piece of plastic got lost in the carpet when Urian breathed, "You-ah. Wow. You-ah. Yes, you… You look… Damn, you're pretty."

Flashing him a brilliant smile, Mirajane walked closer to Urian. Every step she took just had Urian's eyes zeroing in on the black bow twisted at her slim ankles. From there, his blue eyes ran up smooth, shapely legs before they dipped beneath the flowing fabric of her ebony halter dress. The silk fabric shined in the glow from the overhead lights, and as Urian's eyes kept running from the white belt cinched beneath her full breasts, he caught sight of a short, white scarf tied around her throat.

As soon as he realized he was staring, he barked, "Contacts!"

He hit the deck to run his fingers across the carpet. The jerk of his movements was enough to send flying the left contact still floating in the contact solution. Right when he reached to catch the runaway contact case, something pushed him from behind.

Hands wrapped around a tiny waist, and Urian's face was pushed flush against Mirajane's abdomen as he toppled her to the floor. The contacts went wholly forgotten when his eyes popped open against silk and lace.

How many times had Urian found himself with a mouthful of silk? Too many. How many times had he jerked himself up only to slam his head against a nearby desk? Just once.

Silken hands grabbed either side of his face when the desk sent his head flying straight back down towards Mira. When the God Slayer finally stilled the jerking of his movements, he could swear he heard something that sounded like Loki's laughter in the background.

Just the thought that Loki was trying to get Urian to tackle Mirajane sent his blood boiling. He wanted to get up and hunt down the trickster, but Mirajane's face was too close to his. He could feel the heat of her palms on his skin. He could look down to see her plump lips parted. When a knot formed in his throat, he searched for an excuse to get up. He found… a whole bunch of nothing. His mind was a black hole, and his eyes were full of a woman he'd been avoiding for months.

"Nice carpet tile," Urian laughed, trying to look anywhere but the beautiful face beneath him.

A short laugh caressed his hearing, and Mirajane stated, "Yes. Yes, it is. Urian, are you okay?"

"Does worried about my brother because an unstoppable evil is approaching Fiore via ship and a God of Thunder wants my head because one pantheon has just set into motion another pantheon's armageddon count?" He gave a wince and rose to sat on his haunches.

"Excuse me but what?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Nothing. Didn't sleep much last night. I'm pretty sure the thinky-thinky parts of my brain are broken." Forcing himself to stand, Urian reached out a hand to the mage he'd just tackled. A surge of electricity fired straight from his fingertips to his heart when her skin touched his.

"Well, it's a good thing you don't need the thinky-thinky parts for the introductions. Have you even had a chance to take a shower since you left? That pageant starts in two hours," she mentioned.

Urian shouldn't have been surprised when Mirajane looked him over, but he was. Her blue eyes ran from his sneakers, jogging pants, and plain t shirt. He wasn't half as put together as normal. Mira had been right on the money with that shower comment. The only thing Urian had been worried about was Isaac. Well, Isaac and Thor.

So far, he'd seen nothing in regards to how he was going to defeat the god. Mjolnir had been forged by the dwarves, had the ability to flatten mountains and act as a conduit for Thor's lightning. By the looks of things, Urian was thoroughly screwed.

Instead of answering Mira's question, Urian gave her an innocent shrug.

Instantly, she shook her head. The hand that she'd used to help her stand up tightened, and Urian's eyes widened when Mira started walking off with him in tow. "Where are we going?" he asked, holding back his flush as he stared at their intertwined hands.

"The inn. You're not going to ruin Fairy Tail's name by forgetting to partake in the pageant. Do you have any idea how many of the guys I've had to force feed into a pair of jeans today? I got lucky with Evergreen fixing Elfman up," she stated. Her voice was steady moving from sweet to militaristic. Even the march of her feet was changing. No longer was Mirajane walking with that sexy stride Urian loved to stare at. Now, she was marching through the streets. Her high heels were playing a staccato rhythm against the stone walkway. The command of her heels was easy to decode. "Move, bitch! Get out the way!"

Urian's lips couldn't stop themselves from twitching into a grin as he was hauled down the streets. He was in a full force grin until the low rumble of distant thunder caught his ears. One look at the overhead sky and Urian's mouth immediately flatlined.

The skies were grey.

* * *

**In a realm of Water…**

Two eyes popped open. Hands fumbled about under water until one finally found the surface. Fingers spread wide to reveal webbing between each member, and when talon tipped fingers finally found the source that woke him up from slumber, Jormungandr slammed the side of his fist down on his alarm clock.

"Five more centuries," bubbled up from beneath the water. With a big, watery yawn, Jormungandr flashed impressive fangs before sinking deeper into the clam shell he'd fallen asleep in milleniums ago.

"Not five more centuries, squatter!" a voice squawked before a pale hand reached into the shell Jormungandr was resting in. "You've been trapped in my world for millenia now! If it's time to wake up, then get the Hel up!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! No need to bring my sister into our relationship, Aquarius. The Queen of Buzzkills might not like me living with a…" His poison purple eyes ran from her tail to her blue hair. "... fish lady armed with an urn."

Scowl firmly in place, Aquarius tried to jerk Jormungandr up from her personal room in the Celestial Spirit world. All she succeeded in doing was getting the half snake to swat her with the end of his tail. "Get out! Your alarm went off! That means you can finally leave the Celestial Spirit Realm and do whatever thing you were doing that got you trapped in this realm in the first place!"

"Kicking Thor's butt for the sheer entertainment of it? Sorry, lady, but this snake can't work on an empty stomach." His arms reached out on either side of him, and he pulled himself up from the water. As soon as he hefted his alarmingly long tail out of the water, it split from the tip. Flesh tone became the color of his tail as his legs began to form deep indentions in the skin of his tail. When Aquarius tossed him a pair of pants, he sleepily drew them onto his legs.

Throwing her urn at him, Aquarius screeched, "Then, go grab some take out—Those are my fish!"

With his mouth wide open, Jor dangled a writhing fish above his head. Right when Aquarius charged his way, he let the fish drop into his maw. A giant wave slammed into him, nearly wrenching his breakfast straight from his mouth. With the fish tail flopping between his lips, Jor hissed, "But, I'm hungry!"

"I don't care what you are! _They _sealed you inside of my house without my permission, and _they _aren't even my gods! Why was I chosen to be stuck with a squatter for the past thousand something years?" she huffed. When Jormungandr plucked the entire skeleton out from his mouth, she added, "A squatter with hideous table manners. There's a reason you don't have a girlfriend."

"Yah. Being asleep for thousands of years is probably a large part of that. The whole etiquette thing must have passed me by. So, that's a thing now?" He gulped another fish down with just as little grace as the first one. With his mouth completely full, he asked, "More importantly, what's my family been doing these past thousand years? You've been doing a lot of bitching, but surely you've been doing your job as my informant. Eh?"

Never removing her scowl, Aquarius jerked the fourth fish out of Jor's hand. His response? He scooped another straight from the water's edge by sinking his venom tainted talons into it. It didn't look like she was going to win this one. "A lot," she grumbled, hating her job and hoping she could get Jor out before Scorpio showed up. He may have been caught with other women. She would not make the mistake of being around another man. Even if that man was a thousand something year old squatter she'd been forced to stow away ages ago.

"A lot?" Jormungandr encouraged. At the very least, he was chopping his meals into sashimi now.

Ignoring the various bits of scales and fish guts being tossed around in her home, Aquarius explained, "Your father adopted a human boy named Urian at the same time that the Angelic Pantheon took the Urian boy's half-brother. Fenrir got sealed into a statue after he broke his chains. Some girl named Nicola broke him out, and he follows her around now. As for your sister, Hela, she's been sealed inside of the body of a human named Trace Corix."

"Hold up. Hold up. Did you just say that Loki adopted a human? For what? A sacrifice?" He made some sickening sound as he slurped a fish into his mouth.

Wincing at the hideous noise, Aquarius looked into the water of her urn for more details. She could see images of Loki's life with Urian, but thanks to being Lucy' sworn partner, the images were fuzzier than they would have been had Urian been her key holder. The God Slayer wasn't a Celestial Spirit Mage, though. That certainly didn't help with image quality either.

"From the looks of things, he just needed a way to get back into Asgard. He happened to be walking by the castle when some nobleman had it set on fire. He saw the angels take the other boy, and that gave him the idea to grab Urian. He must have guessed they were trying to start their Armageddon."

"I prefer the term Ragnarok, to be honest. What about my brother, then? Fenrir. How'd he get out of the chains?"

Casting Jormungandr a look like he was a complete idiot, Aquarius stated, "You know I can't look into the lives of godly beings. I can only see what happens in what you call Midgard, and even that gets hazy when more than one god is around."

Shrugging, Jormungandr flung the last skeleton into the air. Aquarius was about to screech that he was ruining her home until he flicked his hand towards the skeleton. Purple venom shot out to land on the bones. As soon as it touched, the entire skeleton disintegrated into nothing. The teeth he flashed her were nothing if not self-satisfied. "So, Fenrir?"

"He's headed to the capitol of Fiore, Crocus. Nicola is with him. Apparently, Fenrir caught wind of the godly energy coming from Thor and Loki, so he's heading that way." She turned towards Jormungandr. He was picking his teeth with fish bones. Trying not to groan in disgust, she stated, "If the Angels succeed in waking their Beast, it'll start off Armageddon. You may be laid back now, but if they succeed, the Fates will set everything into motion. All of the Ends will start. The realms are already shivering."

"Well, lookie here who's a smart fishy. I might eat you last when your Greek Fates decide to muck up the world."

Scowl from Aquarius. Grin from Jormungandr.

When she didn't say anything else, he let his long arms reach to the sky. "Well, if that's the case, then wake me up when the fight starts. I wanna see this little boy that Loki thinks can get him back in Wodin's favor."

Aquarius didn't get a chance to complain. Jormungandr's pants slapped her in the face as he flopped on his back into the water. His long, scaly tail flipped this way and that as he got comfy right back in the same spot she'd tried to yank him from.

"Useless squatter," Aquarius snarled until the reflection in her eye grabbed her attention. She saw Fenrir and Nicola entering the capitol as the thunder clouds came rolling in.

The end was about to begin.

* * *

"It reeks of Norse gods here," Fenrir grumbled as he sauntered at Nicola's side. His claw tipped hands were firmly placed in his pants pockets, and his eyes were narrowed as he searched out the source of all the god stink. So far, all he was seeing was a whole bunch of tourists.

It was in times like this when Fenrir really wished Tourist Season actually meant you could legally shoot them.

Shaking her ivory head, Nicola plucked one of the wolf's hands from his pants. She led him towards a stand where a man was selling flowers. Plucking one up, she tucked it behind his ear. "Don't be such a grouch. You should be happy that you're even close to your father. It's been what… Centuries?"

"Millenia," Fenrir growled. "And, I'd personally like to keep it that way. Last time a nordic god came near me, I wound up bound by dwarven chains."

"But, you did break out of them," Nicola piped up, always looking to the bright side of things.

"And promptly bit Tyr's hand off in the process. I can still remember the look on the bastard's face when I snapped his wrist clean." The wolfish sneer that crossed his mouth was one part morbid humor and two parts a warning. He didn't want Nicola anywhere near those bastard gods. There was no telling what they would do to her just to keep him away from Wodin.

Sadly, when Nicola had heard Fenrir muttering about Loki's movements, the little human had immediately decided for him to meet back up with his father. Like the idiot dog he was, Fenrir had chosen to follow her instead of disobeying.

Nicola put both of her hands in his to walk backwards in the streets. With a wholly innocent look on her face, she reminded, "You promised to make amends with Loki for leaving you in their hands. Besides, he was chained much like you were before you broke free again. There was nothing he could do to help you."

Not interested in arguing with someone who didn't know the whole story, Fenrir let Nicola drag him deeper into the city. The deeper they got, the thicker the throngs became. Masses of people were gathered around and making lines between outdoor markets and to something Fenrir couldn't yet see.

Then again, he was too busy shifting his venom green gaze from one person in the crowd to another. While this place reeked of godhood, finding Loki was as easy as finding the hay in a needle stack. Also, there was the cloudiness of the sky combined with the electric charge in the air.

Either there was a powerful lightning mage around, or Thor was cosplaying as a human mage.

Fenrir wouldn't let that bastard anywhere near Nicola. Not if he still had fangs to eat with and claws to shred with.

Keeping his eyes open, Fenrir let Nicola haul him to the very front of a large mass. Her little voice got them enough passage through the crowd to get them headed towards the front of the group.

"Excuse me, miss."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir."

"Is that a puppy? Oh! Look, Fen! A puppy!"

When a small dog was thrust directly in front of Fenrir's face, a mix of blush and annoyance surged from the toes of his feet to the top of his head. He grumpily mumbled, "Yes. Yes, the babe is cute. Nix, put it down before…"

His words faded out when he locked green eyes to glacial blue.

That dog's eyes were not normal. They glittered with trickery and mischief. He leaned his body forward to try and get a wiff of the animal at the same time Nix's hand tugged him sharply off to the side. An _ugwah _of sound found its way through his lips as she took him away from the pup and to a gathering in front of a stage.

Fenrir was positive that dog was more than a dog when it winked with those unnatural eyes. He wanted to go after it, but Nix kept pulling him towards the stage.

"Do you want me to take the arm off, Nicola? With the way you're tugging, I'm sure you're about to get there," he growled, pulling her from the group and against his frame. When her big, round eyes looked up to him in question, he reminded, "There are gods here, Nix. Keep watch unless you want to get taken from me."

Her tiny hand laid flat against the width of his chest. "Don't worry about it, Fen. I just want to get a closer look at the show." Her hand pointed to a nearby sign. "It's a guild pageant to advertise the mage magazines."

Gods at a mage pageant? What sort of nonsense was this? Either Thor had a human concubine or Loki was up to something. Then, Fenrir realized something. Thor, Loki, and Fenrir all in one place. Whatever was about to happen here was going to be far from good.

Green eyes looked at Nicola. She had made her way to the front of the stage. Some blonde haired man was yelling about how cool the pageant was going to be, and Nix looked enthralled with every word. How this excitable, little creature managed to free him from a life of captivity amazed him.

Knowing her, she would likely run up to Thor and step on his foot before scolding him about being a total ass. Then, if she caught sight of Loki, she'd drag him back to Fenrir and demand that they spend more time together.

Fenrir pinched the bridge of his nose. His lass had fire, but she was foolhardy. Without him at her side, he was sure she would have been killed by now.

He reached his claw tipped hand out. With a simple movement, he slipped one pinky finger through a belt loop on her dress. If he didn't want her killed, he'd need to be close to her at all times. With a gentle glance in her direction, he mentally sighed. _This is going to be a long day._


End file.
